What can get an athlete warned or disqualified?
I · Intermediate · Conduct and kit · 4 of 4A walker can be put out of a race in two different ways. The judges' red cards are about walking technique. The referee's yellow and red cards are about everything else: conduct, banned help, drinks taken from the wrong place and cutting the course. Two yellow cards from the referee in one competition make a red.
How it works
- Conduct: athletes "shall participate in athletics competitions with bona fide effort and shall not engage in unsporting or improper conduct". One who does not may be warned or disqualified.
- Yellow card: a warning from the referee.
- Red card: exclusion from the event.
- Two yellows: a second yellow card in the same competition is followed at once by a red.
- Straight red: the referee may exclude without a warning where the circumstances justify it.
- Warning first on the road: for events outside the stadium the referee "shall, wherever practicable", give a warning before disqualifying.
- Obstruction: an athlete who jostles or obstructs another so as to impede their progress is liable to disqualification. That rule applies to race walks as it does on the track.
- Cutting the course: leaving the marked course and shortening the distance means disqualification.
- Drinks: taking refreshment from outside the official stations brings a yellow card and then a red.
- Help: giving or receiving banned help brings a warning and then disqualification from the event.
- Walking technique: judged separately. Red cards from three different judges mean disqualification, and the chief judge shows a red paddle.
- After a walking disqualification: the walker leaves the track or course at once. One who refuses may face action for misconduct as well.
- A technical disqualification: the performance in that event is lost. The athlete may still take part in other events.
- A conduct disqualification: the athlete is out of that event and of the rest of the competition.
- In the results: DQ is followed by the number of the rule. YC, YRC and RC mark a yellow card, a second yellow and a red.
Tricky cases
A walker has two red cards from the judges and gets a yellow card from the referee for taking a drink from a spectator. Are they disqualified?
No. The two kinds of card are counted separately. The judges' red cards are for walking faults only.
Is a yellow paddle the same as a yellow card?
No. A yellow paddle is a judge's caution about technique. A yellow card is the referee's warning about conduct or assistance.
Does a red card always need a yellow card first?
No. The referee may exclude an athlete without a warning where the circumstances justify it.
An athlete is disqualified for conduct. Can they compete in another event at the same championships?
No. A conduct disqualification removes them from all further events in that competition.
Why the rule exists
A referee on a road course cannot be everywhere, and an athlete disqualified by mistake cannot be given the race back. Asking for a warning first where practicable gives athletes the chance to stop what they are doing. The power to disqualify without one is kept for clear cases.
Where it differs
| Where | What changes | Source |
|---|---|---|
| World Athletics rules | As above | TR 7; TR 17.1; TR 6.2 |
| Inside the stadium | No rule that a warning should come first | TR 7.1 (note ii) |
| On the course | Umpires may be made assistant referees so that warnings can be given along the route | TR 55 commentary |
| Serious offences | The competition director reports the case for possible further disciplinary action | TR 7.5 |
From the rule book
World Athletics, Competition and Technical Rules, 2026 Edition, Technical Rules 6.2, 7 and 17.1, 54.7 and 54.10.8, and Competition Rule 25.5. Checked 14 October 2026. Official document: World Athletics Competition and Technical Rules 2026 (PDF).