Timing Technology Behind Olympic Record Results

An anonymous reader writes "We've been on the edge of our seats cheering on the athletes at the Beijing Olympic games — but so often do athletes' victories and defeats rely on accurate timing. As the athletes compete on the world stage behind the scenes technology records their results. This interview with Omega's Christophe Berthaud (video) — the company's 23rd time as official Olympic timekeeper — explores how far the technology has come since the first time it was used in 1932."

Comments

Re:Why the difference?

[uberdilligaff]

I have officiated swimming competitions for nearly 20 years, and LordKronos has it exactly right. Both USA-Swimming and FINA (international swimming governing body) rules require that races be decided by accurate electronic timing precise to 1/100 sec, and no more. Further precision to 1/1000 sec is neither desired nor permitted, and by rule, swimmers who have the same time to the nearest 1/100 sec are tied and share equally in the place. At the velocity of Olympic swimmers (Phelps' 100 fly averaged 1.98 meters/sec), the .01 sec time difference amounts to a 2cm margin of victory.