locked in a tight competition for...

[yuna]

Hello,
there an expression whose meaning I want to confirm.

... Because these practices affected millions of Americans, they are locked in a tight competition for the greatest medical error on record. (from : NY TIMES - Testing What We Think We Know)​

Does this phrase suggest that they- the medical practices - are both so huge errors that they deserve the title 'greatest'?

Thanks in advance.

 

[Miss Julie]

It means they are equally huge. It's as though they were in a football match and the game is tied. (Hence the phrase "tight competition.")

 

[yuna]

Oh, now I get the vivid image. Thank you, Miss Julie