The IAAF has instituted a tougher rule to crack down on the false starts that plague the sprints. The United States is not going along with the rule. Why? Loud opposition from athletes has frightened USATF officials away from this one.

The rule, in short, is this: the field gets one false start. After that, anyone false starting in the race is disqualified.

America's sprinters would have any available ear believe that such a rule would cramp their style and make world records an impossibility.

Never mind that virtually all of our athletes ran throughout their high school and college careers under a tougher rule, one that disqualifies an athlete on the first false start. The rest of the world, which has accepted the new ruling, is not making such a fuss. The BBC has reported that British sprinters Mark Lewis-Francis and Jason Gardner are in favor of it.

So why are the best Americans whining? Because they can. And in what could be a major theme in U.S. track since it has become professionalized, they don't mind putting the interests of the sport well behind their own personal interests.

Guessing the gun has become a major part of the gamesmanship of the short sprints. It is considered the mark of a canny veteran to be able to read the starter correctly, and gain the jump on the field that could mean victory. To me, it seems that too many sprinters take pride in their skills in this regard. To me, it seems that they're cheating.

Last summer, when the news of the rule started spreading, U.S. athletes had plenty of opportunity to vent. Said Marion Jones, who is reportedly now training with Charlie Francis, "It's ridiculous. It's frustrating. We're in the blocks and if we happen to fall out, we're dead. 'We're knocked out of the competition. I don't think it's fair."

Said Maurice Greene, "If you have a meet and three of the stars are out because of a false start, the people will be very upset. As a 100-meter runner, you're running on the edge. I cannot afford to sit back in the blocks, fearful of a false start."

Gee. I'm naïve, I guess, after what seem like a million years in the sport. Perhaps Maurice and Marion could sit down sometime and explain to me just what is so unfair about having sprinters wait until they hear the gun? I think I'm speaking for a lot of fans when I say that if I saw three of the top stars disqualify themselves with false starts, I would not go home cursing the officials. I'd wonder how many times the disqualified sprinters got dropped on their heads in their early years.

The IAAF, though its director of communications, Nick Davies, warns in a Runners World Daily column that world record marks set in the U.S. this season may not be ratified by the IAAF. The logic is that U.S. athletes would be operating under a different set of rules. That makes sense to me, and the other downside is that when our coddled sprinters get overseas, they will have to adapt to the new rule rather quickly.

Rather than preparing our athletes for the rigors of international competition, USATF is now shielding them from it. Shame on the organization for letting itself be controlled by the few who have loud mouths and expensive cars. The vast majority of USATF's members compete under the no-false start rule. Put this rule to a vote of the entire membership, and I think the big names would find that they stand in the minority.

False starts are simply no fun to watch, something the TV networks figured out long ago. Prime time track? It will happen when we present a product worth watching. And one false start in a telecast is one false start too many. Time to turn the channel.

Jeff Hollobaugh, former managing editor of Track and Field News, is a regular contributor to ESPN.com. He can be reached by e-mail at michtrack@aol.com.