How do you know that tracks event times in 1900 did not show hundredths of a second?

Answer 1

In 1900, timing technology relied primarily on manual stopwatches, which typically measured time in whole seconds and, in some cases, tenths of a second. The precision required to accurately record hundredths of a second was not achievable with the equipment available at the time. Additionally, historical records from early track events indicate that times were reported in whole seconds or tenths, reflecting the limitations of the timing methods used. Thus, it is clear that hundredths of a second were not recorded during that era.