World Athletics launched a revised rule governing dropped batons in relay occasions, geared toward bettering equity and readability for athletes and officers.
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The replace, which got here into impact on 1 November 2025, removes the requirement for athletes to return to the precise level the place a baton was dropped throughout a race.
Underneath the earlier regulation, athletes have been required to retrieve the baton and return exactly to the unique drop level earlier than persevering with.
Nonetheless, World Athletics acknowledged that within the depth of competitors, figuring out the precise location of the drop is commonly impractical, whereas officiating such conditions with out video overview might be difficult.
Furthermore, dropping the baton already locations a workforce at a major aggressive drawback.
Based on the brand new rule, the baton have to be recovered by the athlete who dropped it.
The athlete is permitted to depart their lane to retrieve the baton, supplied this motion doesn’t scale back the gap to be lined and doesn’t impede some other competitor.
As soon as the baton is recovered, the athlete could proceed the race with out returning to the exact drop level.
World Athletics additionally outlined clear steerage for conditions the place a baton is dropped in an inside lane. In such instances, the athlete should choose up the baton and return to their very own lane earlier than resuming the race.
Failure to take action—significantly if the athlete runs in an inside lane on a bend after retrieving the baton—will end in disqualification.
Moreover, World Athletics reiterated that the baton have to be carried by the related athlete when crossing the end line for the relay leg to be deemed legitimate.
The up to date regulation is designed to simplify officiating, scale back pointless confusion throughout races, and preserve aggressive integrity throughout relay occasions.
