OLYMPICS USE INSTANT REPLAY NOW
So the Olympics use instant replay now. Sometimes. What? That’s right, it’s confusing just like our American sports scene.
For the men’s 100 meter track event, officials needed every tool in the drawer! Instant replay, photography for a photo finish, rule books… they needed it all.
![OLYMPICS USE INSTANT REPLAY NOW Noah Lyles of Team United States competes on during the Men's 100m Round 1 on day eight of the Olympic Games Paris 2024 at Stade de France on August 03, 2024 in Paris, France.](https://espnswfl.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/60/2024/08/GettyImages-2165077357_1722868647_.jpg?w=1024)
OLYMPICS USE INSTANT REPLAY
American sprinter Noah Lyles won the Olympic men’s 100 meters by .005 of a second with a personal best 9.784! That is flying! At 40 meters he was in last place after a typical slow start. But he started gliding. Fast! But with two strides to go he still looked lost in a 7-way pack. However, it was his lean with his lanky torso at the finish that won him gold!
It looked like a 6 way tie and to the naked eye it appeared Jamaica’s Kishane Thompson was the winner. But after a review of video, photos and use of a rule book, Lyles won the gold. It was the first time in 20 years an American stood at the top podium in the Olympics in this event.
We also learned, unlike horse racing, where the winner goes to the horse with the first body part to cross the line (horse’s nose), the track winner is the one with the first torso to cross the finish line. Who knew. And who knew the Olympics use instant relay? Well sometimes.
In team GB shooting the Olympics decided not to use instant replay and it seemed to cost Amber Rutter the gold. See, just like American sports, sometimes the Olympics use instant replay and sometimes they don’t. Confusing.
For more on the Olympics tune in every weekday to Craig Shemon and Company on ESPN Southwest Florida from 2-6.