Last week, University of Michigan sprinter Ziyah Holman's anchor leg comeback at the Simmons-Harvey Invitational reached close to 4 million views on Twitter.
Kendall Ellis' anchor leg comeback to win USC the National Championship in 2018 has 3.4 million views on YouTube.
When Phil Healy came "from the depths of hell" to win to help UCC win the Irish Universities 4x400m in 2016, the video garnered 3.4 million views as well.
Even "The Freeze", the Atlanta Braves stuntman who races fans that are given a head start, has 4.9 million views.
Everybody loves a comeback. Even someone outside of the Track & Field world will watch. After all, it's the race that's entertaining.
Notice that all of these videos barely mention the time on the clock, or omit it entirely.
From an entertainment perspective, it doesn't matter.
Do you know the winning time of the Kentucky Derby?
How about the winning time of the Tour de France? The Daytona 500?
Now, maybe time gaps are mentioned. But that's because those gaps represent competitors. They help shape the narrative of the race.
The average fan doesn't really care what the clock says at the finish line. They certainly don't care about records or qualifying standards for which they have no frame of reference.
They just care who wins, and how they win.
From an entertainment perspective, that's what matters.