Usain Bolt: Mental Meltdown Disqualifies Bolt from World Championship Race

This was it. Usain Bolt was at the World Championships, looking to defend his 100-meter final. He burst off the blocks so quick that he beat the beginning of the race.

He had committed a false start, a mental blunder that, as of last year, immediately disqualifies any competitor from the race. He wouldn't be the 100-meter champion. Not this time around.

To say that it's disappointing and frustrating is an understatement. All the anticipation and speculation leading up to this race proved to be anticlimactic, as Bolt wasn't even able to compete in the race.

It was his fault and rules are rules, but when one of the most popular track stars in the history of the world gets disqualified because of a false start, nobody is happy. He was the favorite. His fellow competitors would have considered it a victory if they had finished anywhere near Bolt.

The zero-tolerance rule is far too harsh for this infraction, but Bolt has nobody to blame but himself. His mental lapse was his fault, and he knew it from the moment he left the blocks.

It turns out this machine, this gazelle trapped in a human body, is actually subject to human error. He made a mistake and, while it's disappointing, it's nowhere near the end of the road for Bolt.

While Bolt is obviously a huge draw, he's just another competitor. It's not as though Bolt can be exempt just because he's so heralded. It's a shame, but fair is fair.

Sure, it cheapened the entire race, made us all wonder what could have been and called the legitimacy of the rule into question once again, but let's look on the bright side. Bolt still has the 200 in front of him.

Bolt remains the standard in this event. One mental meltdown that cost him a shot at the 2011 gold isn't going to alter public perception. He's the story of every single race he enters. This time around, an error in judgement came to define the entire race.

You live and you learn. It shouldn't take long for Bolt to shake this one off, though it's incredibly disappointing. In no time at all, he'll return to his superhuman, machine-like state. He just needs his timer fixed.