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RULES AND SCORING
All races are started by the firing of a gun by an official at the starting line. For races up to and including one lap of an outdoor track, the runners must stay for the entire distance within lanes marked on the track. There may be six to eight lanes, with each lane usually measuring 1.2 m (4 ft) in width. The winner in each race is the runner whose torso first passes the finish line. Races are timed either by mechanical watches or by more sophisticated, electronic photo-timers that can measure finishes to the hundredth of a second. Sometimes, owing to the number of contestants in a competition, qualifying rounds, or heats, are held to narrow the contestants down to the fastest runners.
Athletes in the field events also have qualifying rounds. In the horizontal jumps and throws, athletes are allowed three preliminary attempts if the field numbers more than eight participants. Then the best performers are allowed three more attempts. In the vertical jumps--the high jump and pole vault--the participants are allowed to continue until they have three successive failures. If two or more contestants tie, the competitor with the fewest failures at the last height cleared is the winner; if still tied, the total number of failures is the deciding factor; if a tie remains, the total number of jumps is considered. Scoring systems differ according to the meet.
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