TheSportsCampus

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What group of people won't start running for their lives when a man shouts out a couple of phrases and then fires a gunshot? Well this group of people does this very thing, only in a much more organized fashion and without having to fear for their lives. In fact they race each other only to go around a field and then come back to the very gunman. This is the sport of sprinting.

The two phrases I mentioned are "On Your Marks" followed by "Get Set". These words are the words that define the positioning of the runners. The first position that is the bending over position with hands on the kick off line is to be acquired on hearing "On Your Marks". After a few seconds when "Get Set" is shouted, the crouching position with one knee touching the ground is taken. The final decisive moment is the gunshot that initiates the race.

It is often a couple of seconds that feels like hours cause they are just sitting there waiting to fire on all cylinders as soon as they hear the shot. It is incredibly hard for anyone to synchronize their stride perfectly with the firing of the gun. It is such a task that sometimes even the professionals are found wanting. When a runner takes off within 0.1s of the gunshot he is penalized. Obviously now if he takes off before the gunshot that is a foul, but even if he takes off 0.099s after the gun is fired he is penalized for having deliberately guessed the start rather than actually having waited for a shot. This is because it is nearly humanly impossible for anyone to have such quick responses. In this situation the referee shows the culprit a yellow card. After this if anyone commits a foul of this nature they are disqualified. It is not necessary that the second culprit is the same as the one yellow carded. This is according to the laws made by the International Association of Athletics Federation (IAAF).

For the 100m races, the athletes are lined up side-by-side right next to each other. But for the 200m, 300m and the 400m events they are staggered equally for the start. If an athlete is unhappy with the track conditions and wants to express it even after "On Your Marks", he/she must raise their hand before the words "Get Set" are spoken. The track referee must be provided with an adequate reason for the halt of the proceedings. If the ref deems the reason invalid he will produce a yellow card for the athlete. And as in most sports if a booked player repeats a foul he is "sent-off". On the other hand if there is a technical fault due to which the race is interrupted all the athletes are shown a green card that carries no penalty.

1.22m wide lanes are numbered 1-8 outwards. Each runner must refrain from straying out of their lanes as this may cost them. If an athlete does cross the lines and does gain a clear advantage he is disqualified instantly. Although, if an athlete is forced out of his lane or if he accidentally strays out of his lane without gaining any advantage he is pardoned. This means that he should not obstruct any other sprinter and also be straying outwards rather than the inwards.

Now let us get to the more decisive part of the race. How is a winner decided? It sounds easy. The one who crosses the finish line first is the winner. This is it, but to be more specific the first torso that crosses the finish line is the winner's. In professional athletics the clocked time is a very important thing, for personal pride as well as for the pundits. So how do you make sure that the clocked time is recorded when the torso crosses the line and not when the swinging arm or the raised knee does? Photocell. This is technology that has an easy operation. It creates the kind of beam that is used for security purposes, right across the finish line. On crossing such a beam the computer clocks the time of interception. This records almost perfectly since it is at such a height where it is just too high for a knee and too low for an elbow. So the only thing that can cross it is a torso.

In the 2006 Melbourne Commonwealth Games the hosts put up a brilliant performance in the 4x400m relay to win the gold. The Indian team led by Rajwinder Kaur beat Nigeria to second place in the relay. On the other hand, in the 4x100m relay the home team could only put together a bronze display. Jamaica claimed the gold on this occasion with England finishing second.

India's Rajwinder Kaur has a personal best time in 400m of 51.57s she also was a member of the team that came seventh in the 4x400m relay at the 04 Olympics. The same team also had a Punjab Police officer Manjit Kaur. Manjit currently holds the Indian National record for 400m of 51.05s. The multi-faceted athlete also led the team in the Doha Asian Games 2004 to a gold medal (4x400m relay). After her massive contribution to the nation's athletics she was honored with the Arjuna Award in 2005. Another teammate Chitra K Soman, helped the Indian team set a national record of 3:26:89 minutes in the 2004 Athens Olympics. She has led the Indians to two different gold medals: one in the Asian Athletics Championships 07 and the other in the 3rd Asian Indoor Championship in 2008.

Sadly though the events will be missing some major star power. Veronica Campbell-Brown from Jamaica, a 5 time Olympic medal winner, has pulled out of the event as has compatriot Kerron Stewart. Stewart has 2 Olympic medals and 3 World Championship medals, but has also chosen to skip the Commonwealth Games. Both athletes have hinted their withdrawal is due to their desire to focus on the World Championships the following year.

A few athletes to watch out for in the women's 100m are 18-year old Melissa Breen of Australia and 19-year old Elaine O'Neill of Wales. They will, however, struggle to beat the likes of Montell Marcelle Douglas who is the current British record holder for the 100 metres at 11.05s.

The Women's Sprinting event will take place at the newly renovated Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in Delhi. The 78,000 seater, owned by the Indian Olympic Association, is the 3rd largest stadium in the country. With the absence of so many star names the home grown heroes having a decent chance at glory and that should ensure a packed house which should make for quite an atmosphere. Especially watch out for the Indians in the relay events!