My Seikos Run A Bit Fast. Was This One Slow?

Duracuir1 · Jul 25, 2022

Several personal bests were recorded at the World Track & Field events this past weekend.

Some are wondering if the timing system - by Seiko - was a bit off.

When hundreds of a second matter, precision is not to be taken for granted.

For the experts here, how different is the timing technology from one brand to another? Seiko (here) vs Omega (Olympics) vs Rolex (F1), and others. And if it’s all identical technology, is it entirely just advertisement? (Attachments from NYTimes)

Canuck · Jul 25, 2022

Would a timer that was running slow really indicate a record fast time? Seems to me ‘twould be the other way around! Running too fast.

wsfarrell · Jul 25, 2022

Canuck
Would a timer that was running slow really indicate a record fast time? Seems to me ‘twould be the other way around! Running too fast.

Say someone runs 100 yards in 10 seconds. An accurate timer will read 10 seconds. If the timer is fast, it might read 11 seconds--that is, the runner seems slow. If the timer is slow, it might read 9 seconds--the runner seems fast. To be absurd, suppose the timer is running so slow it shows only 5 seconds elapsed for the 100-yard run. Big problem.

Duracuir1 · Jul 25, 2022

@wsfarrell you must be a teacher.

@Canuck is such a gifted watchmaker that he never has any fast or slow timekeepers around.

blufinz52 · Jul 25, 2022

Would there be a way to time each event somehow by going over the videos of each race and comparing it with the official time?

Canuck · Jul 25, 2022

wsfarrell
Say someone runs 100 yards in 10 seconds. An accurate timer will read 10 seconds. If the timer is fast, it might read 11 seconds--that is, the runner seems slow. If the timer is slow, it might read 9 seconds--the runner seems fast. To be absurd, suppose the timer is running so slow it shows only 5 seconds elapsed for the 100-yard run. Big problem.

Open mouth, insert foot! (Me)! Of course. That makes total sense.