Bangkok--12 Nov--The Swatch Group Trading
OMEGA has updated its start block for swimming events and the new version will be introduced in international competition at the FINA/ARENA Swimming World Cup 2009 in Stockholm.
The new start blocks have been redesigned for even better performance than their predecessors: a patented, adjustable slanted footrest allows swimmers to use a crouch start with the rear-positioned leg at a 90? angle at the knee, generating an optimal starting profile — the power input a swimmer generates against the block from the starting signal to the time he/she leaves the block.
Like the start blocks OMEGA developed for track events, they have false start detection systems and acoustic start devices which assure that each competitor hears the start signal at the exact same moment.
The new FINA-sanctioned start blocks have been enthusiastically received by the professional swimmers involved in testing them.
Christophe Berthaud, the General Manager of OMEGA Timing commented, “We are particularly proud of the new start blocks and are pleased at the reception they have received from FINA and from the swimmers who have had the opportunity to test them for us. This is a new important milestone in this long tradition between OMEGA and timekeeping”.
OMEGA’s association with competitive swimming dates back to 1932 when the brand was first entrusted with the official timekeeping for all disciplines at the Olympic Games including swimming.
OMEGA’s unparalleled and continuous involvement in the swimming world has led to a long list of innovations in the field of timekeeping technology, including the world’s first semi-automatic swimming timer, the Swim Eight-O-Matic Timer (1956) and the famous “touch pads” placed at each end of the pool for timekeeping at swimming events (1967).
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