why do they still use a starting pistol sound to start running events in the olympics when many other sports use a beep or tone of some kind?

Question

why do they still use a starting pistol sound to start running events in the olympics when many other sports use a beep or tone of some kind?

In: Other

Answer 1

Also: smoke

You see smoke much sooner than you hear the report. It’s now less for runners and more for spectators, but I remember in high school when races were still hand-timed. In the 100m, the timer is by the finish line, but the gun is at the start. The person timing the race was looking for the smoke to start the clock, not the gunshot report.