On its face, what Chelimo did was a rule violation.

Photo: Cliff Hawkins/Getty Images What’s the Issue with Chelimo’s “Drift”? Olympic Track & Field Team Trials at Hayward Field on Jin Eugene, Oregon. Paul Chelimo drifts out to lane 4 staying in front of Woody Kincaid and Grant Fisher at the finish of the Men’s 5,000 Meter Run at the 2020 U.S. And while a lot of this is hyper-technical, such as when during a sprint race wind speed should be measured to determine if race times are wind-aided or record-legal, some are directly related to how you run the race. Do those four, and there’s not really a lot most of us can do wrong.īut in track meets, the rules are so complicated that the 2021 USATF rulebook is a staggering 267 pages. Don’t start until told, don’t cut the course, and basically behave in a civilized manner. Road racing also has rules, but they are fairly simple. Was that legal? Was it sporting? Are there any rules about this? And why are track rules so complex? It’s the type of thing that can cause the Internet to explode in chatter and leave road runners scratching their heads. In the process, he forced those trying to overtake him to run wider, and wider, and wider, until eventually they ran out of room and he crossed the finish first. In the 5,000-meter final of this year’s Olympic Trials, Paul Chelimo caught attention - and controversy - by clinching victory on the final straight by steadily “drifting” from lane 1 to lane 4.

Trackrunner body