Earlier this week, the USA Track and Field and the United State Olympic Committee announced its new dead-heat procedure for third place at the U.S. Olympic Team Trials.
In the case of a third-place tie, a run-off protocol or coin toss protocol will take place.
The explanation of the run-off protocol is two paragraphs long in the press release dated June 24.
The coin toss protocol?
It is six paragraphs long.
It goes into so much detail it's like an Olympic feat in and of itself.
"USATF shall provide a United States quarter dollar coin with the image of George Washington appearing on the obverse hub of the coin and an eagle appearing on the reverse hub of the coin," the press release states.
The press release goes on to explain how each athlete involved with the coin toss should stand - facing one another.
It also explains how the USATF representative should bend their finger when flipping the coin - at a 90 degree angle to his or her thumb, allowing the coin to rest on his or her thumb.
"In one single action, the USATF representative shall toss the coin into the air, allowing the coin to fall to the ground," the release states.
The indepth explanation cracks me up.
Someone put a lot of thought into setting this procedure up.
They spelled out every scenerio including this tidbit - "The athlete who chose the hub that is displayed shall be declared the winner by the USATF representative."
You've got to love it.

-Theresa Neuhoff Audia