Many Team USA fans watching Noah Lyles' incredible photo-finish 100m dash win at the 2024 Paris Olympics were likely celebrating his gold medal without a real understanding of the qualifying metric of his victory.
We know this is true because we were double checking our information, too.
There are so many fascinating components to how Lyles' win was determined and made official, from the technology behind the photo finish to which part of the body was the deciding factor.
Foot? Head? Clavicle? Anything? Bueller?
Here are some answers to the burning questions provided by Lyles' triumph over Jamaican sprinter Kishane Thompson and USA's Fred Kerley.
What's involved in a photo finish?
Get ready for some serious new terminology, and let's highlight the phrase "slit-video system."
"As the runners approach the finish line, a 'slit-video' system scans an ultra-thin segment of the track precisely aligned with the finish line — scans it 2,000 times per second, providing an unbroken image of each athlete crossing the line — and coordinates it with the athlete's time."
Additionally, there's a back-up camera on the other side of the field in case a runner is obscured by another runner.
Can a flash timer be wrong at the end of the race?
Only slightly.
Going again off the World Athletics site, the flash timer is incredibly likely to be spot-on or — at-worst — within 0.01 or 0.02 of the official time.
That's only if, for example, the winner's arm breaks the plane just before the torso.
What body part has to cross the finish line to win in track and field?
Not the neck, head, arms, feet, legs, or hands: The torso.
The torso, often called the trunk, consists of the chest, abdomen, pelvis, and back.