Noah Lyles won the men’s 100 meters, but he started the final as the slowest runner. The New York Times put shadow circles on the track, along with composite photos of the runners, to show how it happened.

The color of the circles indicates speed rank, as opposed to running speed. Everyone was running extremely fast, so showing actual speed probably wouldn’t help much.

People have suggested that the Olympics should have regular people running, swimming, and performing alongside the athletes to emphasize the extremes. Seems like a good idea. Anything to establish a visual baseline, because fast versus fast or strong versus strong can make the extremes seem less extreme.

Keywords: New York Times, Noah Lyles, Olympics, running