Transcription:
By Jesse Squire @tracksuperfan · 1h
If I did my math right, those starting block speakers made a difference last night.
Without them, Lyles would have been at a disadvantage of 0.008 sec — how long the sound of the pistol takes to travel from lane 4 (Thompson) to lane 7 (Lylesh).
He won by 0.005.
[A picture showing starting blocks on the track with runners' feet in them. Behind each starter block is a purple loudspeaker connected to wires leading out of frame.]
This difference could also be minimized by firing a pistol a significant distance behind the line.
True, but you want it to be closer so the world record also remains accurate.
Yeah. To match this comically-fine timing, the pistol might have to be fired in Belgium.
which ideal because then it might hit a belgian too