Monday, in "Historically yours", David Castello-Lopes recounted the origins of the starting blocks.

As early as ancient times, Greek athletes had invented a device to allow runners to start at the same time.

But the first starting block was patented in 1927. 

Every day, in 

Historically yours

, David Castello-Lopes offers to discover the origins of a known object.

Monday, the columnist looked at the starting blocks, these devices in which sprinters put their feet before the starting signal of a race. 

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"In running, where the crucial moment is the start, you have to be absolutely sure that no one has started even a hundredth of a second before the others. And the Greeks, in their Olympics, had already invented a device which looked really complicated, to make sure the riders left at the same time It was called a hysplex.

It might be the name of an 80s nightclub, but it was a bit rudimentary version of what is used for horse racing: a gate that opens at the same time for all competitors, and whose opening signals the start of the race to everyone. 

A patent filed in 1927

My story begins again at the end of the 19th century, when modern sport is developing.

At that time, there started to be athletics events all over the place.

And in the late 1880s, simultaneously in Australia and the United States, there were runners who understood that if they wanted to start faster and stronger, it was much better to start squatting than standing.

Quite quickly, everyone therefore starts to crouch.

Except that so that the feet do not slip when leaving, they must have something to lean on.

At the time, however, the stadiums had earthen floors, so you could dig holes in them.

And that's what runners have been doing for decades: a hole for each foot.

Except that if we come back to the ideal of the same rule for all, letting the runners make their holes is not ideal.

In 1927, to counter this and to make the starts more efficient, a gentleman therefore filed the first patent for starting blocks.

The latter took a long time to win, and were optional at the start.

Thus, at the 1948 Olympic Games in London, some runners used it, others did not.

Which, from an equality standpoint, was not great.

Technological developments 

But the starting blocks eventually became compulsory.

And one of the reasons that it is mandatory today is that the starting blocks are no longer just starting blocks.

It is also most often from them that the starting signal for races is emitted.

Objective: to be sure that everyone hears the starting signal at the same time, at the ready millisecond.

Because a sound triggered on one side of the track will take longer to reach the furthest runner. 

In addition, the starking-blocks are now equipped with sensors that detect false starts.

And so, they increasingly fulfill this essential function of sport which is to make sure that everyone is subject to the same rules.