In a heart-stopping finish at the Paris Olympics, Noah Lyles emerged victorious in the men’s 100m final, claiming gold with a time of 9.79 seconds. The race was so close that a mere five thousandths of a second separated Lyles from Jamaica’s Kishane Thompson. Both sprinters were initially given the same time, but Lyles’s finishing time (9.794) was slightly faster than Thompson’s (9.799), securing his victory. The finish was so tight that even the spectators and athletes were stunned, with Thompson having led for most of the race.
The photo finish seemed to show Thompson’s leg ahead of the finish line, leaving many bewildered. But how did Lyles ultimately claim gold? The answer lies in the intricacies of a photo finish in athletics. World Athletics, the governing body for international athletics, employs a “slit-video” system to capture the finish line. This system scans a precise segment of the track at an incredible 2,000 times per second, generating an unbroken image of each athlete as they cross the line, meticulously aligning it with their recorded time. A backup camera on the opposite side of the track is also used to ensure no runner is obscured or blocked by another athlete.
While the flash timer used to record the times has a margin of error, the critical factor in determining the official result is the body part that crosses the finish line. In the Paris 100m final, Thompson’s foot initially appeared to break the plane first. However, the official timing is based on the torso, which includes the chest, abdomen, pelvis, and back. In this instance, Lyles’s torso was judged to have crossed the line ahead of Thompson’s, solidifying his gold medal win. The razor-thin margin of victory highlights the extreme precision and meticulousness of photo finishes in track and field.
