Many important sports at the Olympics would not be possible without the super-precise timing technology provided by Omega watches.
At the first modern Olympic Games in 1896, Greek athlete Spyridon Louis won the marathon with a time of 2 hours, 58 minutes, and 50 seconds. After the referee signaled the start, a stopwatch was mounted on a bicycle and rode ahead of Louis to record the results.
Until just before the London Olympics in 1948, timing and clocking were done manually. Fortunately, the technology for timing at the Olympics made significant advancements during the 20th century.
Today, there is no need for manual methods, such as using a rope to mark the finish line for results. Instead, the Quantum Timer can measure time with precision down to 1/1,000,000 of a second.
The Most Fair “Referee” at Every Olympic Games
In 2008, during the men’s 100m butterfly final, the showdown between legendary swimmer Michael Phelps and Milorad Cavic ended with a margin as small as a blink of an eye. Specifically, Phelps won his 7th gold medal with a time of 50.58 seconds, compared to Cavic’s 50.59 seconds.
Even in interviews, the American swimmer admitted that if viewed with the naked eye, Cavic appeared to have touched the wall first.
Image technology confirmed Phelps won the gold medal in the men’s 100m butterfly final at the 2008 Olympics.
Without a sophisticated technology system capable of recording at 100 frames per second, competitions in fast-paced sports like swimming or athletics would be challenging to manage effectively.
Few understand the importance of timing as well as Alain Zobrist, CEO of Swiss Timing. Swiss Timing, along with Omega, is part of The Swatch Group. Zobrist is responsible for ensuring that the timing devices provide the most accurate numbers at the Olympics.
This pursuit of perfection has connected Omega with the Olympics for many years, creating a partnership that has lasted nearly a century.
The Swiss watchmaker Omega has provided manual stopwatches for the Olympics since 1932. At the London Olympics in 1948, the Magic Eye camera system was implemented to determine which athlete reached the finish line and stop the clock.
The manual timing method continued to be used for the next 20 years. The Mexico City 1968 Olympics were the first to fully adopt an electronic timing system. However, about 45 manual stopwatches were still provided as a backup in case of system failures.
The Paris 2024 Olympics will mark the 30th time Omega has served as the official timekeeper for the Games. This partnership includes the use of complex devices, sensors, cameras, positioning systems, and countless other innovations.
Swimming lap counter.
According to a representative from Swiss Timing, all inventions are developed and tested over many years. “For any new device, the development process can take several years. It starts in the lab and goes through numerous rounds of refinements and testing. Before being used, new technology must receive strict approval from individual sports organizations,” Zobrist stated.
Technology Shaping the Olympics
Timing in high-level sports requires a very high degree of precision, especially as athletes’ performances continue to improve.
This has compelled Omega to continuously enhance timing technology to increase accuracy. At the London 2012 Olympics, they introduced the Quantum Timer, which can measure time accurately to 1/1,000,000 of a second.
Omega’s timing system at the Olympics is connected to the Scan’O’Vision Myria camera, which can capture 10,000 images per second and send them to the officials to verify who finishes first.
In Paris, there will be 329 events across 32 different sports. Each event requires its own technology and expertise.
“The biggest challenge in timing for the Olympic Games is the large number of events and different sports. New sports are added in each edition, so the work continues to evolve,” the CEO of Swiss Timing noted.
In addition to finishing line photo devices, Zobrist and his team also work with starting control devices.
Detecting false starts is also an essential aspect of fast-paced sports. Specifically, in athletics, the Omega system synchronizes with the starting gun, using sensors attached to the starting blocks to detect if an athlete jumps the gun by more than 0.1 seconds when the gun is fired.
Starting gun, camera synchronized with Omega’s Quantum Timer system used at the Olympics.
Not only does it time events, but computer vision technology is also an innovation that Omega has brought to recent Olympic Games.
According to Zobrist, the Omega team began research in 2012 to serve various sports.
In beach volleyball, AI is used to recognize hitting and passing actions, analyzing the trajectory of the ball.
Combined with data from gyroscopes embedded in athletes’ uniforms, AI can also determine movement directions, jump heights, and speeds. After processing, the information is sent to the technical department for television display.
In gymnastics, Omega’s AI is applied to assess the accuracy of movements. In swimming, image recognition technology counts the number of strokes taken by athletes, measures their speed, and the distances between competitors.
In cycling, motion sensors are attached to the bike frame to time the start and finish.
Not only can this technology accurately determine the moment of victory or defeat in an event, but the data is also a fantastic resource for athletes and coaching teams to analyze their performances.
