An infraction in racing where an athlete begins moving before the official start signal. In most track events, one false start results in disqualification from the race.
From 'false' (incorrect, premature) and 'start' (beginning). The concept developed alongside organized racing in the 1800s as officials needed rules to ensure fair competition when reaction times became crucial to race outcomes.
Sprinters can react to the starting gun in as little as 0.1 seconds, but anything faster than 0.1 seconds is considered physically impossible and ruled a false start! The rule changed in 2010 to allow zero false starts instead of one, making track starts incredibly tense since one mistake ends your race.
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