Timing System is Put Through its Paces
Posted by Nicki | August 14, 2012
Just before the 2012 Olympics kicked off in London, Seiko were in Spain putting a new timing system through its paces before the World Championships in Moscow next year.
Norfolk sports enthusiast Hannah Palmer was there to help out during the World Junior Championships in Barcelona.
“1992 was the year Barcelona held the Olympics at the Estadi Olímpic de Montjuïc. Twenty years on, it was an honour to go there and be part of Seiko’s testing of a new transponder system.
The stadium is simply unbelievable - one of the most amazing I have worked in so far for Seiko, mainly down to its history and its setting in such a beautiful city.
Trying out the new transponders in Barcelona was the ideal chance for Seiko before the World Championships in Moscow next year, by which time they hope to have the technology on board. It’s a proven Dutch method of timing which is said to work 100% better than existing Japanese system the J Chip.
Faster and More Accurate
With the new transponder, everything is 100% faster and more accurate. The chips which go behind the athletes’ bibs are similar to the J Chip, although slightly bigger and a lot lighter.
Omega have been using the system successfully since the Beijing Olympics four years ago, and after much debate Seiko have now decided to follow suit.
In testing, the chips give times within 2/100th of a second of the photo finish, and their accuracy means they could be used at more and shorter events in the future.
Over the five days of testing in Barcelona we recorded every athlete over four different points across the track…giving precision timing which far surpasses the original J Chip system.
The events involved the men’s and women’s 5,000 and 10,000 metres, 3000m steeplechase, and the 10,000m walk, and to put the system to the ultimate test we chipped the 800m men’s final and the 400m ladies’ final too.
The World Junior Championship is the athletics showcase where you get to see future champions of the world perform, and I was lucky enough to see Great Britain’s Adam Gemili break the championship record in the 100m final in a time of 10.05 seconds.
Everything went according to plan in Spain, and I'm really looking forward to working for Seiko at the World Championships in Russia next year.”
Kitting Out Would-Be Olympians
Here at Gear-Zone you’ll find everything for would-be Olympians to get kitted out for the athletics track, hockey pitch or swimming pool.
Check out our comprehensive range of Adidas, Nike and Asics running shoes and spikes, our new selection of hockey gear from Kookaburra, Mercian, Grays and Dita, and our performance swimwear from Speedo and Zoggs.
Picture source: Compfight
