The “timing room” at Rio 2016 was the unseen operation behind results that looked effortless to spectators. A 2016 Time+Tide video feature takes viewers behind the scenes, with animated visualizations and interviews with Alain Zobrist, CEO of Swiss Timing, and Omega chief executive Raynald Aeschlimann.
What is the Rio 2016 timing-room video?
Time+Tide published the feature on August 21, 2016, under the title “VIDEO: ‘There are no mistakes.’ Inside Omega’s timing room at Rio 2016”. The page embeds a video identified as Vimeo 179294851. It presents a behind-the-scenes look at the official timekeepers’ work during the Games.
The feature’s “duck swimming on the lake” metaphor captures its central contrast: competition appears smooth from the stands, while a busy operation works beneath the surface. Animated visualizations and interviews help make that hidden activity visible.
Who appears in the feature?
- Alain Zobrist, identified in the feature as CEO of Swiss Timing.
- Raynald Aeschlimann, identified as Omega’s chief executive.
The video is an introduction to the people and atmosphere around Olympic timing, rather than a documented technical manual. The source does not provide a full transcript or establish every device, system, or procedure shown.
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What happens if timing equipment fails?
Asked what happens when something goes wrong and equipment fails, Zobrist replies: “There are no mistakes. We can hardly ask the athletes to run the race again.” The line conveys the stakes: a race result cannot simply be reset and repeated for the convenience of the timekeepers.
It is not, by itself, an explanation of how equipment is checked, how timing data is backed up, or how officials handle a failure. The feature’s quote expresses the pressure of the job; it should not be read as a technical account of safeguards.
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How does Rio fit into Omega’s Olympic timing history?
Rio 2016 sits within a longer Olympic relationship. Omega’s official history says the International Olympic Committee selected the company to provide sports timing devices for the 1932 Olympic Games. That historical milestone does not identify the specific equipment or systems used in the Rio video. For background, see Omega’s Athletics Timekeeping history.
Figures published by Omega for Milano Cortina 2026—300 timekeepers and 130 tonnes of equipment—describe that later Winter Games operation, not Rio 2016. They cannot be used to quantify the scale of the Rio timing room.
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