They say one shouldn’t jump the gun and celebrate before something actually happens. A track and field athlete clearly didn’t get this memo. His victory was cut painfully short as his national record was stripped away before his eyes. But what led to such a sudden decision?

As reported by Track & Field Gazette on X, “Tshepiso Masalela has been disqualified after his big National Record over 1500m for unsportsmanlike conduct! This was his celebration at the finish of the race.”

Well, the picture tells the entire story. At the Orlen Copernicus Cup in Torun, the 26-year-old Botswanan crossed the finish line with his hands transformed into a finger gun, aimed directly at the French runner Azeddine Habz, who was only meters away.

After that finish line celebration, the officials acted without hesitation. World Athletics initially congratulated Masalela but immediately took the posts down, as they cited the violation of World Athletics Rule TR 7.1.

The rule clearly suggests that athletes compete with a genuine and honest effort and prohibits any unsportsmanlike or improper conduct.

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Masalela reportedly even appealed against the decision, but his appeal was rejected per ISPORT.

This incident occurred after both Masalela and Habz had pushed each other to the absolute limit at the World Athletics Indoor Tour Gold meeting. However, Masalela lunged forward and clocked an extraordinary 3 minutes, 32.55 seconds, setting a national record and winning the race over the Frenchman, who was a mere one-hundredth of a second behind.

But, with the updated results, Habz was confirmed as the winner ahead of Samuel Chapple in second (3:32.68) and Samuel Pihlström in third (3:33.47), who both set national short track records.

Masalela’s disqualification was surely jarring, but it is far from an isolated incident in track and field.

Track and field doesn’t tolerate excessive celebrations

In 2013, a Texas high school relay team was disqualified from the state championships after anchor Derrick Hayes celebrated their qualifying win by simply pointing a finger to the heavens. The gesture was deemed to have run afoul of a University Interscholastic League (UIL) regulation barring excessive celebration.

However, the runner’s father, KC Hayes, wasn’t someone who agreed to the decision, stating, “He put his hand by his ear and pointed to the heavens. It was a reaction. You’re brought up your whole life that God gives you good things, you’re blessed.”

Similar sentiment was echoed by a Columbus resident, Laporchia Miller, who said, “I don’t see what the big deal is. When people are thanking God, he’s the reason we live.”

Last year, 16-year-old Clara Adams was stripped of her California state title after spraying a fire extinguisher on her shoes. Indeed, the crowd’s reaction was positive, but it didn’t sit well with the California Interscholastic Federation (CIF), which disqualified her for unsportsmanlike conduct and revoked her title, further barring her from competing in another race later that day.

“I’m disappointed and I feel robbed. I am in shock. They yelled at me and told me, ‘We’re not letting you on the podium.’ They took my moment away from me,” a frustrated Clara told to reporters.

Her father, David, who was also her coach, criticized the ruling, stating, “When she blew the fire extinguisher, the opponents were gone. That was our moment of celebration, and CIF officials made it about them. The crowd went crazy, they loved it, the CIF booth went crazy, they loved it. But those few guys in those jackets took offense to it, didn’t like it, and made a decision based off emotions.”

The controversy took a massive turn when Maurice Greene got to know about Clara’s disqualification, as her celebration was an homage to the former 100m world record holder, who once famously sprayed a fire extinguisher on his shoes after winning a race at the 2004 Home Depot Invitational.

“If it was away from everyone and not interfering with anyone, I would say reinstate her,” Greene said.

What remains is a stark reminder that in the world of track and field, the line between a historic win and a costly mistake is sometimes just a gesture wide.