A FIRST FORAY INTO SPORTS
Signalling a commitment to sports timekeeping that continues to this very day, OMEGA served as official timekeeper at sixteen sporting events in Switzerland and abroad in 1905. OMEGA was a natural choice for event organisers because of its standard-setting commitment to accuracy and precision.
30 October
THE FIRST PRECISION BALLOON RACE
In 1909, OMEGA was given the honour of timing the Gordon Bennett Cup – a prestigious and dangerous balloon race that saw an international field of competitors attempt to outfly each other across Europe.
The winning team on the day was Edgar W. Mix and Andre Roussel in their “America II” balloon. The duo outdistanced competitors by travelling 1,211.11 km from the start point of Zurich, Switzerland, in a time of 35 hours and 7 minutes
30 July – 14 August
THE START OF AN OLYMPIC LEGACY
Beginning a sports timekeeping tradition that still continues today, OMEGA became the first watchmaker to time an entire Olympic Games. Using a lone watchmaker and 30 chronographs, OMEGA was entrusted to time all disciplines in Los Angeles that year.
From this humble beginning, OMEGA has gone on to be Official Timekeeper at almost all Olympic Games. At these events, OMEGA has introduced numerous technological breakthroughs and improved sports timekeeping from 1/10th of a second in 1932 to 1/1000th of a second today.
6 – 16 February
A SKI-TIMING FIRST
At the Olympic Winter Games Garmisch-Partenkirchen 1936, OMEGA timed the downhill skiing competition with a new, novel method that saw two separate chronographs used – one at the start and another at the finish. The start and finish time of each skier was noted on paper and then calculated later in the race office.
This new method had its own challenges to overcome. Lists of start times were transported down the course in the pockets of competing skiers. If a skier were to fall, the start times of proceeding skiers may be lost. OMEGA solved this problem at the following Olympic Games with the introduction of photoelectric cell technology.
1 – 16 August
THE CHAMPION OUTSIDER
Talent outran bigotry at the Olympic Games Berlin 1936. One particularly famous American was the most successful athlete at the Games, winning four gold medals. Germany's leader was unimpressed, but the young star was a crowd favourite. As runners had to dig their own starting holes before each race with small shovels, even the most glorious sprints had modest starts, but the races were timed perfectly by OMEGA’s 185 chronographs.
28 July – 14 August
THE BIRTH OF ELECTRONIC TIMEKEEPING
At the Olympic Games London 1948, two of the most significant innovations in sports timing – OMEGA’s “Magic Eye” photoelectric cells and the slit photofinish camera developed by the British Race Finish Recording Company – ushered in the era of electronic sports timekeeping.
The photoelectric cell recorded the exact moment the finish line was crossed, solving the problem caused by the long-used finishing line tapes, whose elasticity made them inaccurate. The photofinish camera allowed judges to see, without a shadow of a doubt, the exact order in which athletes finished an event.
Intended only as a backup, the two systems proved their merit when called in to settle the result of the men’s 100 m sprint. Two sprinters both scored a time of 10.3 seconds, but an eventual winner was found when judges were able to view the now-familiar photofinish image. The following year, OMEGA and Race Finish Recording would combine forces to integrate both technologies into the OMEGA Racend Timer.
26 January – 5 February
CORTINA D’AMPEZZO
In the Giant Slalom event at the Olympic Games – the winner was so far ahead of his nearest rival (an incredible 6.2 seconds), he was convinced the clocks had malfunctioned. But OMEGA’s timing was flawless and it went down as the greatest margin of victory in the event's history.
22 November – 8 December
TIMING DOWN UNDER
To get to the Olympic Games in Melbourne on time, OMEGA sent 2,475 kg of equipment on a boat bound for Australia. Leaving in August and arriving in November, the 42 boxes were insured for CHF 1 million, and included many sophisticated technologies such as the new Swim Eight-O-Matic Timer, a semi-automatic device that could determine the closest swimming results.
25 August – 11 September
ANCIENT CITY: NEW TECHNOLOGY
Rome’s ancient setting was a dramatic backdrop to the 1960 Olympic Games, which saw the first large electronic scoreboards and the first television coverage. As the demand for timekeepers had increased, OMEGA tripled its staff at the Games. Precise timing played a crucial role in the 100 m, where the winning margin was just 0.01 seconds.
22 July, First official use
THE FIRST TOUCHPADS
Improving timekeeping for a new generation of athletes, OMEGA introduced the world’s first swimming Touchpads at the Pan-American games in 1967. The introduction of Touchpad technology dramatically increased the accuracy of swimming results, with swimmers able to stop the clock themselves.
Previously, judges had been required to look for the moment that each swimmer touched the wall. Inaccuracies and potential disputes were common as up to three judges per lane each had stopwatches and often recorded conflicting results. The Touchpads solved this problem and has been used in every summer Games since 1968.
12 – 27 October
THE GREAT LEAP
Mexico City was the first time that electronic timekeeping was officially used in all events at the Olympic Games. For those watching, the Games would be remembered for one of the most astonishing long jumps in history. The winning 8.9 m leap broke the record by 55 cm, sending shockwaves around the stadium. More than 40 years later, it remains the Olympic Long Jump record.
17 July – 1 August
SEVEN PERFECT SCORES
The Olympic Games Montreal 1976 was a momentous year for one young Romanian gymnast. At just 14 years old she won three Olympic gold medals and was awarded the maximum score of 10.0 for seven of her performances. As this was the first time a perfect 10 had ever been given in the history of women’s gymnastics, the new video matrix scoreboards displayed the score as 1.00.
13 – 24 February
LAKE PLACID
No one gave a group of American college students a chance against the hardened professionals of the Soviet team. At full-time the score stood at 4-3 and the U.S. Hockey Team had ended thirty years of Soviet domination and performed the unforgettable “miracle on ice”.
28 July – 12 August
FOUR GOLDS AND THE ULTIMATE GOAL
At the Olympic Games Los Angeles 1984, OMEGA introduced several new timekeeping technologies, including pressure-sensitive false start detectors that were used in swimming and athletics. By winning the 100 m, 200 m, long jump and 4 x 100 m relay, one exceptional American athlete took home four golds and achieved his ultimate goal of matching the same medal haul as his hero from the controversial Olympic Games Berlin 1936.
17 September – 2 October
THE FIRST COMPUTERISED OLYMPICS
At 14 x 9 metres, OMEGA’s colour video matrix board was a clear sign that a new era in timekeeping had begun. Though fully computerised, Seoul was not lacking in human drama. In the backstroke heats, two swimmers from Italy and Australia recorded precisely the same times in not one, but two races. It was only in the thrid race that the Italian qualified by a 0.13 second margin.
10 – 26 February
FLAWLESS TIMEKEEPING ON ICE
The 20th Olympic Winter Games in Turin marked the return of OMEGA to its historical role as Official Timekeeper. A huge logistical undertaking as the timekeepers had a job to do every four seconds. There was not a single hitch.
8 – 24 August
A RECORD-SETTING OLYMPICS
At the Olympic Games Beijing 2008, OMEGA delivered a record 420 tons of timekeeping equipment to be used by 450 professionals and more than a thousand local volunteers.
This was the 23rd time that OMEGA had taken the role of Official Timekeeper. Another record-breaking performance at the Games was that of OMEGA ambassador Michael Phelps. He won an astonishing eight gold medals in the pool, breaking a record that had stood since 1972.
12 – 28 February
ENDGAME FOR THE STARTING PISTOL
Of the many timekeeping innovations introduced at the Olympic Winter Games Vancouver 2010, OMEGA’s futuristic red flash gun generated the most interest, as it replaced the starting pistol that had been part of Olympic timekeeping for decades.
Timekeeping played a crucial role in the ice hockey final. With just 25 seconds of regular play remaining, the USA scored, forcing the game into overtime. Canada’s winning goal came 7 minutes and 40 seconds into the sudden-death extra period.
TEEING OFF A NEW PARTNERSHIP
In 2011, OMEGA became the Official Timekeeper and Official Patron of the prestigious PGA of America golf tournaments. The new partnership made OMEGA responsible for on-course timekeeping at all PGA events, including the PGA Championship – one of golf’s Majors – and the Ryder Cup when it is contested in the United States.
27 July – 12 August
SUPER SATURDAY
For the host nation of the Olympic Games in 2012, Saturday 4 August will go down as one of the greatest days in their sporting history. 11 athletes from Great Britain won gold medals that day, including the heptathlete Jessica Ennis-Hill, who had been described as the face of the competition. Even with so much pressure on her shoulders, she confidently claimed victory in front of 80,000 roaring fans.
7 – 23 February
A TIE FOR GOLD
Timekeeping precise enough to measure the microseconds between first and second place, can of course reveal an entirely different result: two winners. At the Olympic Winter Games Sochi 2014, history was made when an alpine skiing race ended in a tie for the gold medal. Athletes from Slovenia and Switzerland both won gold in the women’s downhill. OMEGA timed both runs at precisely 1 minute and 41.57 seconds.
5 – 21 August
RECORDING OLYMPIC DREAMS IN RIO
For the 27th time since 1932, OMEGA fulfilled the prestigious role of Official Timekeeper at the Olympic Games. With the event hosted for the first time in South America, OMEGA travelled to Rio de Janeiro with 480 timekeepers and 450 tons of equipment, including the new Scan’O’Vision MYRIA photofinish camera that was capable of recording 10,000 images per second. The colour and culture of Brazil brought the occasion to life, while OMEGA reinforced its reputation for precision timekeeping by recording every second of every sport without fault. This included 28 new world records and 65 Olympic records. For swimming legend and OMEGA ambassador Michael Phelps, Rio 2016 truly was a dream made real. The world’s most decorated Olympian added 5 more gold medals and one silver to his collection – pushing his overall career total to 28 medals including 23 gold.
March 17th
A Famous Kiwi Victory
As the Official Timekeeper of the 36th America’s Cup, OMEGA was thrilled to be on the water as its long-time partner, Emirates Team New Zealand, sailed to victory for the fourth time in history. Proving their skill for innovation and precision yet again, the kiwis recorded a sensational win at home, while the crew on board were equipped with OMEGA watches.
23 July – 8 August
Late Start at Tokyo 2020
It may have arrived one year later than planned, but for the 29th time in history, OMEGA fulfilled its role as Official Timekeeper of the Olympic Games. Bringing almost 90 years of experience to Tokyo 2020, the team took charge of every event, and used new state-of-the-art motion sensor technology to highlight the most in-depth details.
4 – 20 February
90 Years Of Olympic Timing
Beijing 2022 was a defining year for OMEGA timekeeping, as the brand reached 90 years as Official Timekeeper of the Olympic Games. Recording the dreams of the world’s best winter athletes, OMEGA brought 300 timekeepers along with 200 tonnes of advanced equipment to record every event – including the first ever appearance of Monobob.
