If the rules around having a chip are not enforced, then the timing mat placement means very little.

I agree that WTC does a great job with the mat placement, but any situation where an athlete is able to contest their way to a position with no timing data to support it needs to stop. The policy should be black and white when it comes to this. In almost any race, you can pick up a back up chip in transition if you lost it on the bike or swim. The notion that you lose it while running is pretty far fetched. Although possible, I would say it is incumbent on the participant to be aware enough to keep the chip in their possession for at minimum the run course and through the finish.