It’s the 100-meter sprint at the Paris Olympics. Runners from around the world speed down the track. 

Two runners dash past the finish line! And the winner is . . .

Who? It’s too close to call. 

The two runners were Noah Lyles of the United States and Kishane Thompson of Jamaica. Mr. Lyles watched the scoreboard, waiting for results. He’d worked for three years for this moment. But did he win?

Yes, he did—by five thousandths of a second! That’s also written as 0.005 seconds.

In the 100-meter sprint, not just every second counts. Every part of a second counts.

Blink your eyes. The average eye blink takes about a tenth of a second (or 0.1 seconds). Now imagine dividing that tiny moment into 20 parts. Can you even think a thought that quickly? Mr. Lyles won by that much. It was the closest gap between first and second place since 1980—or maybe even ever!

The top seven racers all finished within 0.09 seconds of each other. That’s right—seven sprinters finished closer than a blink.

All the runners “came out knowing they could win this race,” says Mr. Lyles.

American Fred Kerley came in third. His shoe touched the finish line first. But in the 100-meter sprint, it’s not the feet that count. The prize goes to whoever’s chest first reaches the finish. It’s important to dip (lean forward) at the right moment.

 “That’s probably one of the most beautiful races I’ve been in,” says Mr. Kerley.

Mr. Lyles ran 100 meters in 9.784 seconds. That’s not quite Usain Bolt’s world record of 9.58 seconds. But it won Mr. Lyles the Olympic gold. He’s the first American to win the race at the Olympics since 2004.

The Bible reminds us that “in a race all the runners run, but only one receives the prize.” (1 Corinthians 9:24) Sometimes that difference is smaller than the blink of an eye! God tells us to live our lives like runners trying to win the prize. That doesn’t mean getting exercise—although that’s important too. It means following God with all our hearts. And there’s good news: He strengthens us for that race.