MOMENTS OF TRUTH
Omega delivers accuracy at its finest at the Olympic Games
BY KEEPING COUNT of the smallest fraction of a second and distance, Omega has proved to be a crucial part of the Olympic Games since its appointment as official timekeeper in 1932. While awaiting news from the International Olympic Committee on whether or not to proceed with Tokyo 2020, president Raynald Aeschlimann assured that Omega is always primed for duty, with or without the pandemic.
In spite of the eventual delay, Omega successfully turned the Land of the Rising Sun into its own land of “Recording Dreams,” bringing almost 90 years of experience to the Olympic Games for the 29th time, along with 400 tonnes of equipment, 530 timekeepers and technical professionals, 900 trained volunteers, 350 sport-specific scoreboards, 85 public scoreboards and 200km of cables and optical fibre. Over the course of 17 days, Omega measured every second of action for 339 events in 33 sports, including the debut of karate, sport climbing, surfing, baseball/softball, and skateboarding, giving the Swiss watchmaker more competitions to record than ever before.
The greatest focus was no doubt on the athletes, who have dedicated years, months and hours to reach this moment; whose dreams depended on those final results, making Omega’s precision and equipment a vital part of every event.
Thankfully, Omega came with experience. Throughout the years, the Swiss watchmaker and official timekeeper has evolved, developed and implemented many of the most famous timekeeping technologies in sport. At Tokyo 2020, Omega’s expertise reached a new peak with new, state-of-the-art real-time data measurement, revealing a brandnew view of the Olympic Games.
We present here the highlights of Omega’s evolution and technology throughout its history with the
Olympic Games.
LOS ANGELES 1932: THE LEGACY BEGINS
For the first time in history, a single watch company was selected as official timekeeper of the Olympic Games. For its unrivalled reputation in precision excellence, that prestigious title was given to Omega. It was a defining moment in the history of sports measurement that set the course for an incredible future. The brand sent one watchmaker all the way from Bienne to Los Angeles, armed with 30 highprecision stopwatches that were accurate to the nearest 1/10th of a second.
GARMISCH-PARTENKIRCHEN 1936: TIMEKEEPING IN WINTER
Omega’s first Olympic Winter Games were hosted at the twin villages of GarmischPartenkirchen. Compared to summer, the winter events posed a new set of challenges for the Swiss watchmaker, particularly in alpine skiing, where the brand had to send starting times down the mountain in the pocket of the next skier. But Omega rose above the challenge. The sun was also shinning, and weather conditions were perfect, setting the stage for another year of historic results and times.
LONDON 1948: THE ARRIVAL OF THE ELECTRONIC ERA
Two of the greatest revolutions in sports timekeeping made their first summer appearance at the Olympic Games, courtesy of OMEGA. This was the beginning of the “electronic era” when technology began to outperform the capabilities of the human eye. Amongst the technologies were the first photofinish camera, pinpointing exact finish positions in races, as well as the first Photoelectric Cell, which electronically stopped the clock as the first athlete crossed the finish line.
HELSINKI 1952: REWARDED FOR SERVICE
In appreciation of its 20 years of service, Omega was awarded the IOC Cross of Merit for its “exceptional services to the world of sport.” One of those advancements was the quartzdriven Omega Time Recorder. This impressive electronic chronograph featured a high-speed printing device which enabled OMEGA to time events and instantly print out the results to the nearest 1/100th of a second.
INNSBRUCK 1964: TIME ON SCREEN
Omega changed the viewing experience of the Olympic Games forever with Omegascope technology. This new piece of equipment introduced the concept of “real time” sports reporting by superimposing the live times on the bottom of the screen. Never had spectators outside a venue been so quickly informed about events.
MEXICO CITY 1968: SWIMMING CHANGES FOREVER
The arrival of OMEGA’s swimming touchpads is considered one of the most important moments in timekeeping history. The pads were 90cm high by 240cm wide and two-thirds of their surface was immersed in the water. They reacted to the slightest of touches, so that when an athlete reached the finish, they were able to stop time with their own hands.
LOS ANGELES 1984: CATCHING THE FALSE START
Omega introduced the first false start detection device. The equipment was extremely sensitive and functioned by measuring the pressure that each runner exerted against the starting block. As the athlete launched forward, their reaction time was triggered by their physical force, enabling the timekeeper to detect the slightest false start.
TORINO 2006: ATHLETES WEARING TECHNOLOGY
In speed skating, there was particular focus on the brand’s newest piece of technology. For the first time at the Olympic Games, the athletes wore special transponders on their ankles. These chips were able to send and receive radio signals and allowed Omega to capture specific time measurements throughout each race.
LONDON 2012: A MILLIONTH OF A SECOND
With an enhanced resolution of one millionth of a second, Omega’s new Quantum Timer in London was the beginning of a new generation of the brand’s timekeeping products. The resolution was 100 times greater than previous devices and, with a maximum variation of only one second out of every ten million seconds, it was five times more accurate.
PYEONGCHANG 2018: MOTION SENSOR & POSITION SYSTEMS
Through new motion sensor and positioning systems, Omega was able to provide continuous measurements of every athlete’s performance from start to finish. Whether it was the live speed of a single alpine skier - or the formations of an entire ice hockey team ‒ Omega provided in-depth information for each event as it happened.
TOKYO 2020: MOTION SENSING & POSITIONING SYSTEMS
Athletes on the track in Tokyo were fitted with motion sensor tags on their start numbers. With this technology, Omega was able to provide real-time information such as live positions, live speed, acceleration, deceleration and distance. Viewers were able to watch events such as running and swimming and know exactly their positions and speed from start to end.
A slightly different technology was introduced in gymnastics known as Pose Detection. This incredibly advanced system is a huge step forward for the sport and registers the complete movements of each athlete, enabling judges to review an athlete’s technique such as synchronicity and horizontal displacement.
IN SPITE OF THE EVENTUAL DELAY, OMEGA SUCCESSFULLY TURNED THE LAND OF THE RISING SUN INTO ITS OWN LAND OF “RECORDING DREAMS,” BRINGING ALMOST 90 YEARS OF EXPERIENCE TO THE OLYMPIC GAMES FOR THE 29TH TIME
OLYMPIC DEBUT AT TOKYO 2020 NEW TIMEKEEPING FOR SPORT CLIMBING
A new event at the Olympic Games, sport climbing has seen spectacular growth in recent years and is particularly popular in urban settings, where climbing gyms have helped to accelerate interest amongst young people.
Athletes of the new sport in the Olympics competed in three disciplines, with the results combined as a single ranking to determine the men’s and women’s medals. The disciplines included speed (the fastest to reach the top of a 15m wall and hit the touchpads by Omega), bouldering (competing on 4.5m high structures within a set amount of time); and lead (climbing as high as possible on a 15m wall in just six minutes).