I understand for many types of races especially half and full marathons the racers are tracked by their gun time and by a chip time.
Why do they use both and why is the gun the official time as it seems (based on my limited knowledge) that it is likely less actuate.
In: Mathematics
In an open race, professional runners run alongside with amateurs (not for long, because the professional fly past).
Typically, the people who have an actual chance of winning the marathon start in the first wave of people. They get right up to the line when the gun goes off. For them, the chip and gun time would for the most part be negligible.
For everyone else, they start well afterwards. It could be a few minutes before their wave starts. In that case, the chip time is a better indicator of their running time.
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