US Olympic trials produce a dead heat result in the womens 100m

Last weekend for the first time ever, the US Olympic trials for women in the 100m final produced a dead heat result. Both Allyson Felix and Jeneba Tarmoh crossed the finish line in joint third place in exactly 11.068 seconds. With timing equipment measuring thousandths of a second and cameras taking photos at a rate of 3,000 frames per second, the judges could not decide which of the runner's torso had cross the line first. A dead heat has never been seen before, even in the event's long history.

On Sunday evening, USATF spokeswoman Jill Geer announced the new procedure for breaking a third-place tie in the 100 and any running event in the future for which a U.S. national or Olympic team is selected. Unless one athlete declines her position, the runners will decide between a run-off and a coin toss. Either way, the decision must be made and a team finalised by the end of the trials on Sunday, July 1. Officials will work with the two and their coach, Bobby Kersee, to decide what to do next.