Cover Alain Zobrist, CEO of Swiss Timing, Omega's sports timekeeping facility
Alain Zobrist, CEO of Swiss Timing, Omega's sports timekeeping facility
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The CEO of Swiss Timing leads the charge in Omega's growth as a sports timekeeper
Alain Zobrist is the CEO of Swiss Timing, a Swatch Group company, which also owns Omega. As the man overseeing the development of timekeeping devices for the Olympic Games, Alain Zobrist possesses first-hand knowledge of the challenges and excitement of such a monumental task at the world's largest multi-sport event.
Please elaborate on Omega’s role as the Official Timekeeper of the Olympic Games Paris 2024.
We say we’re timekeepers, but we do more than measure time; we measure all the results of all the athletes participating. We have a specific data handling system, and we need to make sure that all the data generated is treated, formatted, and distributed in real time. We provide services to broadcasters, meaning every bit of graphics you see on screen is provided by us. So really, it’s a full end-to-end delivery service.
Read more: Why Omega is crucial to a successful Paris 2024 OlympicsWhen did you start preparing for the Games?
We started three years ago with a full-time team in Paris, working closely with the IOC (International Olympic Committee). Our team is involved in the process of building stadiums, ensuring that we have the required rooms and cable pathways built in. It’s a big logistical endeavour, with over 550 people and the deployment of roughly 350 tonnes of equipment.
One year before the Games, we do test events. Every sport is tested in its environment and we’re now in the last wave of test events.
Above Sport specific scoreboard
Sport specific scoreboard
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What are the unique challenges of Paris 2024?
Every Olympics is different. There is a different culture, a different language, a different venue. We also have to contend with new technologies every time. Every sport is different too, and we have to calibrate our timekeeping instruments to their specific requirements. Swimming is calibrated to a 100th of a second, while cycling is calibrated to a 1,000th of a second.
But we have a lot of experience, and that experience helps us to be efficient and precise. Our experience also ensures that we deploy the best technologies needed for the athletes to compete.
What is Omega’s unique capability as a timekeeper at the Olympics?
The biggest challenge today is that the data we collect needs to be displayed in real time so we cannot have a deviation between the image that you see and the data that is shown. The time it takes for us to collect, process, and distribute the data to TV is less than 1/10th of a second, and this is extremely fast. But this is what we specialise in.
What do you think is Omega’s biggest innovation in sports timekeeping?
I would say it’s the chronograph in 1932 that opened the door for us to get involved in sports.
Brian Cheong leads the watch (Tatler GMT) and jewellery content at Tatler Malaysia, combining sharp editorial insight with years of luxury lifestyle experience. A seasoned journalist in luxury watches based in Kuala Lumpur, Brian had previously helmed World of Watches, Men's Folio and Prestige Malaysia.
