Jon Drummond protested after disqualification at the 2003 Worlds

It had been proposed that the IAAF would sanction instant disqualification for any athlete that false started.

But president Lamine Diack withdrew the plan from consideration after pressure from several countries.

"It's great. I like the way it is now - you have to have room for error," said Olympic 100m champion Justin Gatlin.

Critics of the current system - which allows one false start and disqualifies the perpetrator of any subsequent indiscretion - said it encouraged some to deliberately false start once to unsettle opponents.

"There is a certain amount of gamesmanship in the sprints and not allowing any false start eliminates that," said former sprinter Frank Fredericks, who is on the athlete's commission.