Championships for two false starts -- even though he reportedly never left his starting blocks.

Judy Simmons, president of Bermuda Track and Field Association, claimed Bean, the Island's sole competitor at the event in Maebashi, Japan, had been a victim of controversial electronic sensors.

Simmons said: "Devon never even left his starting blocks. The equipment was so super-sensitive that he only had to move his foot slightly to trigger it.

"It was very unfortunate. He was ready to run and he is very upset.'' She added that the athletics authorites were reconsidering use of the equipment, because it had detected so many questionable false starts.

Bean had been about to run in the first of six heats in the 60 metres sprint.

The Island was allowed to enter one athlete who had not reached the qualifying standard for the championships and Bean, the Bermuda 100 metres record holder, was chosen.

Simmons said the original intention of the BTFA had been to take triple jumper Brian Wellman, who won gold in the 1995 indoor championships in Barcelona, but the one non-qualifying athlete was only allowed to enter a running event, not a field event.

The lack of indoor meetings this year gave Wellman few opportunities to reach the new tougher qualifying standard for his event of 17.15 metres. The gold-medal winning jump was 17.18 metres.

Terrance Armstrong, the Island's 1500 metres Commonwealth Games finalist, who might have had a strong case to be that sole competitor, had effectively ruled himself out of the reckoning, according to Simmons.

"We spoke to Terrance and he indicated to us that he was not up to the standard he reached when he set the Bermuda 1500 metres record and that he was getting back to fitness,'' said Simmons.

"Devon was selected because of his performances which were very close to the qualifying standard.'' Devon Bean: Disqualified after two false starts.