LONDON 2012 OLYMPIC GAMES
In 2012, London will host the Olympic Games for the third time. The last Olympic Games in London was in 1948 and Omega was there as Official Timekeeper. We are looking forward to returning for what will be the 25th time we’ve assumed that time keeping role.
The London 2012 Olympic Games will have special significance for Omega. It will mark 80 years since the brand first served as Official Olympic Timekeeper at the 1932 Los Angeles Olympic Games. It will also be the 25th time Omega has assumed the role.
Omega’s time keeping preparations are already well underway for the London Games. In order to meet the ever-growing need for official data and statistics, the Omega team of sports timekeepers has been supplemented with the recruitment of a considerable number of data processing professionals.
Time have changed considerably both for athletes and for timekeepers since Omega last timed an Olympic Games in London in 1948. That was the year the newly-introduced photofinish camera, nicknamed the Magic Eye in Great Britain, caused a sensation. Omega pioneered the photofinish camera’s use in sport and has been behind many of the most important technical innovations in sports timekeeping.
Alluding to Omega’s and London’s shared Olympic history, Sebastian Coe, the Chair of LOCOG the London Organising Committee of the Olympic Games and Paralympic Games , said, “ I am looking forward to our cooperation. London is putting sport and the athletes at the centre of its planning, because we want to see records broken in 2012. Omega timing will be absolutely central to this, capturing these moments of sporting history on the track, in the pool and in so many of our venues.
“We will write history again in 2012.”
Lord Coe’s perspective is unique: he twice broke world records in Zurich. He also won two Olympic gold medals, and now is he bringing the Olympic Games to London for a record third time. As LOCOG Chair he promised a great Games – British and International at the same time. “We will be different to Sydney, Athens or Beijing, Olympic Games are always different from each other”.
Of course, the timekeeper remains the same, but Omega will undoubtedly be using technology of the highest specification at the London 2012 Olympic Games, just as it has done on 24 prior occasions.