A photo finish occurs in a sporting race when multiple competitors cross the finishing line at nearly the same time. As the naked eye may not be able to determine which of the competitors crossed the line first, a photo or video taken at the finish line may be used for a more accurate check. Photo finishes make it less likely that officials will declare a race a dead heat.
A photo finish record of the first triple dead heat in harness racing: Patchover, Payne Hall and Penny Maid at Freehold Raceway (US), October 1953
1987 400 metre hurdles: Sabine Busch 53.24s, Cornelia Ullrich 53.55s
A dead heat
A dead heat is a rare situation in various racing sports in which the performances of competitors are judged to be so close that no difference between them can be resolved. The result is declared a tie and the competitors are awarded a joint ranking. Dead heats can occur in both head-to-head races and competitions where competitors race sequentially and are ranked by finishing time.
The 1877 Boat Race ended in the only dead heat in the history of the competition
A dead heat in horse racing
An extremely rare photo finish triple dead heat, recorded in a 1953 harness race at New Jersey's Freehold Raceway