Probably stupid chip timing question..... (Read 683 times)

Has it ever happened that the first person to breast the tape, in a chip timed race, did not actually win the event? IE, somebody who finished behind him/her crossed the start line a bit later and actually ran a faster (chip) time? Theoretically possible I guess. Or am I being stupid?

Outrageous. She beat the lead elite woman by a huge margin.

USATF rules (and I suspect those of other similar bodies around the world) essentially state that chips are a convenience for the race director and volunteers trying to log all the finish times, and that winners are decided by sequence across the finish line. The Nike race involved an error on the part of the race organizers, in which they let nonelite women to be called elite based on some very soft and poorly publicized criteria, and gave them a big head start. The "elite" pack included a bunch of marathoners who were no better than marathoners in the regular pack, and one of the women in the regular pack ran a MUCH faster race than the woman who broke the tape. The best interpretation I have heard is that the two groups were running different races and should have had a different tapes to break. That all said, the winner is defined as the first one across the line, regardless of crummies in tummies, you know.

Yes indeed lets do this topic again. It's been a few weeks, hasn't it? The fact that you have to look to essentially a charity fun-run for an example of this coming into play should indicate how rare and unlikely it is. Several things had to happen in the Nike Womens Run or whatever it was called for this to even be an issue, most importantly they had an elite womens start yet none of the women in the elite womens start were elite. In the end, if I recall correctly, Nike gave the woman with the fastest time the same plastic trophy that the the "winner" got as well, and she also got a lot more press and invites to other races etc. than she otherwise would have so all was well that ended well. However, in a road race, finish order is what matters. Time is recorded mostly to compare performances from year-to-year and for course records, PR's etc. If you legitimately expect to be competitive you are allowed and encouraged to line up at the front.

I suspect it happens occasionally at the age division level, particularly in large races that apply the USATF rules of competition and don't base order of finish on net time.

Meh ... it's a race, not a time trial. If you want to win it, start at the front.

It's only an island if you look at it from the water.

It's only an island if you look at it from the water.

I see what you did there, chief.