Phelps and Cavic – Great Moments!

High speed video images of 100m butterfly at the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games

Omega has been the Official Timekeeper at 23 Olympic Games since 1932. Chosen for the first time because of the accuracy and reliability of its chronographs, Omega has always served the cause of the athletes and Olympic Movement, who place their full trust in Omega technology and its timekeeping team.

All technologies in place at the Olympic Games, and particularly in swimming, have been developed by Omega and have proven their accuracy and reliability for years, also at world championships and in many international competitions. In order to be able to deliver rankings which are beyond doubt and dispute, it is essential to have extremely precise systems; at this level of competition, it is possible that several athletes will finish in the same tenth of a second.

A particularity of an Omega swimming system is that there is no human intervention between the athlete and the measurement of his or her performance. The end of the swimming pool is equipped with Omega touch pads which the athletes must push in order to create the contact that automatically stops the chronograph. Touching the pad is not enough. The athlete has to exert a pressure of at least three kilograms to create this contact and stop the chronograph. The Omega system is precise to a thousandth of a second in order to be absolutely certain of the result delivered at the hundredth of a second mandated by FINA specifications. Also, following FINA regulations, the data are encrypted in order to prevent access to this thousandth of second.

Right on the left picture: Michael Phelps; Left on the right picture: Milorad Cavic

At the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing, the swimming pool was equipped for the first time by Omega with four digital cameras which were used as a back-up system. Each camera permanently records the finishes in two lanes at a rate of 100 images per second. The replay then allows independent judges from FINA to review the arrivals image by image in order to control the results in case of tight arrivals. Each image represents one hundredth of a second. This system is very important as the human eye can only perceive events that last at least a tenth of a second; it cannot perceive events which last a hundredth of a second.

The 100m butterfly at the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games which Michael Phelps won by one hundredth of a second over Milorad Cavic is a perfect example of how the primary and backup systems complement each other. There is absolutely no doubt that Michael Phelps was the first to stop the chronograph. The recorded video images confirm an identical result. Milorad Cavic’s coach was invited to review the high-speed video images and he does not dispute the result delivered by Omega.

This should make it clear that Omega, in its role as Official Timekeeper, has no influence on the results and rankings of the athletes. All competitions are organized under the auspices of their respective International Federations. Their judges are present in the timekeeping rooms to observe, control, and finally to validate the results before they become official. Omega’s role is to provide athletes with the most accurate measurements of their performances possible.

Omega’s reputation and credibility both as watchmaker and timekeeper have been established through years of development and cooperation with the Olympic Movement and International Federations. Omega provides the most accurate and reliable measurement systems in the world. The professionalism and the independence of its teams are recognized by the highest authorities in sport. Omega is at the service of all the athletes at this Olympic Games and we are proud of the acknowledgement they have given us for our work.

Michael Phelps stopping the chronograph at 50.58

Milorad Cavic at 50.58

Milorad Cavic stopping the chronograph at 50.59

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Phelps and Cavic – Great Moments!