Welsh athlete Christian Malcolm believes that the false-start rule could potentially see the best athletes disqualified in the early stages of an event.

The rule states that one false start results in automatic disqualification, as opposed to the previous system that allowed two infringements before dismissal.

World record holder Usain Bolt was victim to the rule in the 100m final in the World Championship in Daegu, while Britain’s Dwain Chambers also missed out due to a false start.

"There was nothing wrong with the rule they had before where it was one false start and then anyone would be disqualified after that," BBC Sport quotes Malcolm as saying.

"It's tough now. It showed at the World Championships that someone like Usain Bolt can make mistakes.

"It's not what you want. You don't want the best athlete - some say the best ever athlete - to miss out through disqualification."

Despite open criticism of the rule, the governing body IAAF has no plans to review the system in time for next year’s Olympic Games in London.