10 Surprising Rules Runners Must Follow in Olympic Sprint and Hurdle Events

Let's run through the list of do's and don'ts, shall we?

The 2024 Paris Games are underway and the track and field events are among the most-watched sports in the Summer Olympics.

With a total of 49 medal events, track and field represents the biggest sport at the Games — and for the first time in Olympic history, it marks an equal number of events per gender (split into 24 men's events and 24 women's events).

Athletics is the larger grouping that track and field falls under, coving a wide variety sports broken into several running, walking, jumping and throwing disciples. Among them include pole vault, decathlon, javelin and marathons.

Running disciplines also include sprints and hurdles in a range of distances: sprint events include 100m, 200m and 400m, while hurdles similarly include 100m, 110m and 400m. Needless to say, those particular events go by, um, fast.

Track and field events are exciting to watch, but the rules and guidelines can be technical if not familiar with the gameplay. Plus, when the speediest athletes across the globe are competing, those technicalities can make or break a win.

In fact, that happened on Aug. 4 during the men's 100m final when the gold medal recipient came down to a photo finish. Ultimately, Team USA's Noah Lyles' torso crossed the finish line first — not only winning gold but becoming the world's fastest man (by five-thousandths of a second)!

Read on for the surprising rules you didn't know runners must follow in the sprint and hurdle events at the 2024 Olympics!

Runners must not wear transparent clothing

Before the race even begins, runners must follow a set of guidelines for the clothes they wear while competing in the Olympics. World Athletics outlines the rules that govern the Games, stating attire dos and don'ts.

In every track and field event, the organization enforces athletes to wear "clean" clothing that must be "designed and worn so as not to be objectionable." Furthermore, it states the clothing "must be made of material which is nontransparent even if wet."

Since the sprint races could come down to a photo finish, ensuring outfits don't hinder vision is crucial. Therefore, World Athletics states athletes "must not wear clothing which could impede the view of judges."

Shoes are not mandatory for track and field events

A not-so-obvious track and field rule? "Athletes may compete barefoot or with footwear on one or both feet," World Athletics states.

Opting not to wear shoes may sound crazy, but there's a clear intention regarding why runners are allowed to sport them: "The purpose of shoes for competition is to give protection and stability to the feet and a firm grip on the ground."

Shoes are not meant to enhance their speed! An athlete's shoe "must not be constructed so as to give athletes any unfair assistance or advantage," the organization states. "Any type of shoe used must be reasonably available to all in the spirit of the universality of athletics."

Depending on the track and field discipline, there are a number of technicalities around shoe construction. World Athletics outlines the specifics regarding spikes, inserts and soles allowed in competition.

Runners must wear bibs that are clearly visible

All athletes competing in track and field events must wear bibs and they must be visible for identification purposes. According to World Athletics, "No athlete shall be allowed to take part in any competition without displaying the appropriate bib(s) and/or identification."

Bib technicalities differ depending on the track and field disciplines. While each athlete is given two bibs that "shall be worn visibly on the front of the torso and back," jumping events are an exception ("one bib may be worn on the front of the torso or back only," the organization states).

In addition to numbers, "the athletes’ names or other suitable identification" is allowed on bibs. The bibs "must be worn as issued" and they shouldn't be "cut, folded or obscured in any way."

Some events like the Photo Finish System may require athletes to wear "additional number identification of an adhesive type on the side of their shorts or lower body," according to World Athletics.

Runners' hair must not 'impede the view' of judges

Track and field athletes primarily have the freedom to style their hair how they'd like during competition — though similar to the World Athletics clothing ruling, athletes' hair must not "impede the view of the judges."

Several runners have been vocal about using their lane as their stage, particularly as a form of self-expression. Team USA's Sha’Carri Richardson, who won silver in the 100m dash at the 2023 Paris Olympics, is one of them.

In a past interview with Vogue about her viral wig toss moment at the 2023 U.S. Track and Field Championships, Richardson said "I’m not gonna change the confidence that I have in myself ever."

She added, "But at the same time, I have learned there is a way that I can carry that so much more gracefully. That’s where that moment came from."

Runners must wait for the starting pistol before beginning the race

Athletes must listen for two commands, "On your marks" and "Set," before the starting pistol is fired to signify the start of the race. Until then, there are several rules they must abide by to avoid disqualification.

At the "Set" command, "an athlete shall immediately rise to their final starting position retaining the contact of the hands with the ground and of the feet with the foot plates of the blocks," per World Athletics rules. "Once the Starter is satisfied that all athletes are steady in the 'Set' position, the gun shall be fired."

Runners must use blocks and start from a crouching position for certain events

In races up to and including 400m, World Athletics rules "a crouch start and the use of starting blocks are compulsory." After the "On your marks" command, "an athlete shall approach the start line, assume a position completely within their allocated lane and behind the start line."

It's crucial that athletes "shall not touch either the start line or the ground in front of it with their hands or their feet when on their mark," the organization states. "Both hands and at least one knee shall be in contact with the ground and both feet in contact with the foot plates of the starting blocks."

Technicalities differ depending on the track and field disciplines, plus distances. For example, athletes participating in races longer than 400m can start in a standing position as opposed to crouching down.

If a sprinter begins their starting motion from the set position before the starting pistol is fired, it is deemed a false start. "The first false start of a race results in an automatic disqualification to the offending runner," the ruling per NBC Olympics states.

Runners must stay within their lanes, though there are exceptions

Depending on the track and field event, athletes are pre-assigned lanes (this incudes sprint and hurdle disciples). While athletes are to stay within their lanes, World Athletics has rules in place should "lane infringement" occur during competition.

There are a few exceptions that would save an athlete or a relay team from getting disqualified if they step outside their lines, like if they "are pushed or forced by another person to step or run outside their lane or on or inside the kerb or line marking the applicable border."

A runner's torso must cross the finish line to signify the end of the race

Photo finishes are exciting endings to track and field events, especially the sprints because the races last seconds long! When it comes to crossing the finish line, though, there's one specific part of the body that must cross first.

NBC Olympics reported that per the official rules and regulations for track and field events, “the first athlete whose torso (as distinguished from the head, neck, arms, legs, hands or feet) reaches the vertical plane of the closest edge of the finish line is the winner."

This rule, in particular, was analyzed extra closely during Noah Lyles' photo finish during the men's 100m final on Aug. 4 at the 2024 Paris Olympics. Ultimately, officials determined that Lyles’ torso made it over the finish line before the rest of his competitors to win gold.

Runners are allowed to touch hurdles, but not with their foot

Athletes participating in the hurdle events must abide by many of the same rules that sprinters follow (like starts and finishes, for example), though the addition of the obstacles adds a few more guidelines to their list.

Each runner "shall go over each hurdle and keep to their own lane throughout," per World Athletics. "Failure to do so will result in a disqualification."

The organization also states disqualification will result if a competitor's "foot or leg is, at the instant of clearance, beside the hurdle (on either side), below the horizontal plane of the top of any hurdle" or if they "they knock down or displace any hurdle by hand, body or the upper side of the lead leg."

Furthermore, if competitors "directly or indirectly knock down or displace a hurdle in their or in another lane in such a manner that there is effect or obstruction upon any other athlete(s) in the race, and/or another Rule is also infringed," they will be subject to disqualification.

Cell phones aren't allowed in the competition area

A variety of rules around assistance are in place for track and field events, like medical treatments. This particularly has to do with interfering and timing within the competition area.

To capitalize on the assistance ruling, certain devices are "considered assistance." Among them include "video recorders, radios, CD, radio transmitters, mobile phone or similar devices" — all of which are not allowed in the competition area.