Chronos

Less than a century ago, the timing of downhill skiing required someone at the top and bottom of the run, each with a stopwatch synchronized to the time of day. Every few skiers, the timer at the top would send down a piece of paper with the start times of the last few skiers and then some math would ensue, eventually resulting in the time of the run being calculated. Yes, sports we're not as exciting back then...

Now, not only is everything electronic, but sensors are often tied to the athletes themselves. In speedskating, racers wear a transponder that can measure not only start and finish times, but also determine other things, such as acceleration in and out of a turn. On the slopes, it is the skier's knees passing through a "snowgate" that creates a contact, instantly sending an impulse to triggers the start of the electronic timing. The ability to measure minute differences in finishing times has also improved. A new photo finish camera, for example, shoots 2,000 frames per second.

"There's not a lot of human intervention," said the general manager of Omega Timing, who have been involved with the Olympics for over 70 years. But the high-tech effort actually requires more people to administer. At its first Olympics, in Germany in 1936, Omega sent a single technician with 27 stopwatches to the Games. At the 2006 Turin, Italy, Winter Games, Omega sent 208 people - 127 timekeepers and 81 data handlers--along with some 220 tons of equipment.

This year, Omega is adding a new electronic starting gun that replaces the traditional pistol and blank cartridge. The new gun emits a consistent light and sound that can be used with a time-synchronized photo as a backup if the electronic timing system were to fail. And the new starter is a lot easier to get through airport security.