The Olympic Games are also an occasion to showcase and test innovations to elevate the competition; here are some examples.
BY MAURO MEREU
The most important sporting event in the world can’t happen without top-notch technology. Across the decades, top sports events have become one of the most prestigious benchmarks for testing innovation. Every edition of the modern Summer Olympics saw many firsts, even technology-wise, and each provides a snapshot of the technological development of the period. As Paris 2024 is already called the AI edition, let’s take a trip down memory lane and look back on some of the innovations that changed the Olympics.
Los Angeles 1932: the chronograph
Before the 1932 Olympics, each judge used to bring one’s own stopwatch to keep track of time during races. It wasn’t until this Olympics edition that Swiss watchmaker Omega developed its Olympic chronograph. The chronograph featured a fly-back hand, allowing each judge to rely on the same tool to track time with accurate precision for the time. Since then, the Swiss company has become the official timekeeper of most of the Olympic games, advancing its tech edition by edition.
Rome 1960: the first edition to be broadcast live
The 14th occurrence of the modern Olympic Games was the first broadcast live across Europe, with Eurovision providing coverage throughout the continent. Since TV satellites would have come only two years later, taped footage of the games was flown to North America at the end of each competition day. CBS had the exclusive rights to broadcast games in the United States, while CBC Television cast the Olympics in Canada and Telesistema Mexicano did the same in Mexico– also for the first time.
Read the rest of this article at https://innovationorigins.com/en/7-innovations-that-left-a-mark-in-the-history-of-the-olympic-games/
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