Swatch Helps Keep Olympic Scores Straight

 

By Rebecca Ward¹
 
The 2004 Olympics, now in its second week, has been mired² in controversy³ from almost the start, from a number of highly-publicized doping cases to several controversial judgment⁴ calls. But as VOA's Rebecca Ward reports, a Swiss watchmaker is helping⁵ the Olympics in Athens keep the scores straight.
When U.S. swimmer Aaron Peirsol initially⁶ lost the gold in the 200-meter backstroke, it wasn't because of timing⁷. A swimming judge had flagged him for a turn violation⁸ but failed to make the case for the disqualification. So Peirsol was reinstated and his timing, more than two seconds ahead of his closest competitor, stood.
While timed sports still come under scrutiny⁹ for possible violations¹⁰, determining who wins or loses, even by a thousandth of a second, is not so subjective¹¹. According to timekeeper Peter Huerzeler, an exact science he's practiced since 1968.
"You see I remember in Atlanta, the 100-meter race it was between Merlene Ottey and Gail Devers. For us, Gail Devers was the winner, but for the people and also for TV they thought that Merlene Ottey was the winner. Of course we had protests from the coach and everything. And I went with this picture to the press conference and I showed it to the press and everybody said no it's correct, you are correct. Gail Devers was the winner."
The Swiss company Swatch is the Olympics official timekeeper, providing photo-finish and timing technologies that can count down to miniscule fractions of a second.
"We could go to ten thousandth of a second if you want, but who needs this?  Because the most important thing are the rules of the federation¹². If they are counting one-hundredth of a second, then it's one-hundredth of a second. Of course in track and field we are always timing in thousandths of a second. Because for the final you have only athletes in the blocks, and sometimes the eight and the ninth have the same time, the same hundredth of a second. Then we are going back to the thousandth."
In his 35 years of timekeeping, Mr. Huerzeler says there is one world record that stands out and will not likely be broken during this Olympics.
"A big world record that has never been broken is the 800 meter freestyle women. Janet Evans, she has the record and if today if someone is coming closer, they are ten seconds behind. And I was talking to her during the trials in Long Beach and I was talking to her to beat your record, you have to make the pool two meters shorter. She was only laughing and she says yeah, maybe you are right."
Swimmers, by the way, have a unique system to help determine who is going home with the gold, silver or bronze. They actually stop their own clock by hitting a touchpad at the end of each race. Timing, as they say, is everything.
Rebecca Ward, VOA news, Athens.
注释：
controversy 争论
backstroke 仰泳
violation 违反，违背
disqualification 失去资格
thousandth 千分之一
timekeeper 计时员
miniscule 变小，细微
freestyle 自由泳
touchpad 比赛终点的触垫

1 ward   

n.守卫，监护，病房，行政区，由监护人或法院保护的人（尤指儿童）；vt.守护，躲开

参考例句：

• The hospital has a medical ward and a surgical ward.这家医院有内科病房和外科病房。
• During the evening picnic,I'll carry a torch to ward off the bugs.傍晚野餐时，我要点根火把，抵挡蚊虫。

2 mired   

abbr.microreciprocal degree 迈尔德（色温单位）v.深陷( mire的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The country was mired in recession. 这个国家陷入了经济衰退的困境。
• The most brilliant leadership can be mired in detail. 最有才干的领导也会陷于拘泥琐事的困境中。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

3 controversy   

n.争论，辩论，争吵

参考例句：

• That is a fact beyond controversy.那是一个无可争论的事实。
• We ran the risk of becoming the butt of every controversy.我们要冒使自己在所有的纷争中都成为众矢之的的风险。

4 judgment   

n.审判；判断力，识别力，看法，意见

参考例句：

• The chairman flatters himself on his judgment of people.主席自认为他审视人比别人高明。
• He's a man of excellent judgment.他眼力过人。

5 helping   

n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的

参考例句：

• The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
• By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。

6 initially   

adv.最初，开始

参考例句：

• The ban was initially opposed by the US.这一禁令首先遭到美国的反对。
• Feathers initially developed from insect scales.羽毛最初由昆虫的翅瓣演化而来。

7 timing   

n.时间安排，时间选择

参考例句：

• The timing of the meeting is not convenient.会议的时间安排不合适。
• The timing of our statement is very opportune.我们发表声明选择的时机很恰当。

8 violation   

n.违反(行为)，违背(行为)，侵犯

参考例句：

• He roared that was a violation of the rules.他大声说，那是违反规则的。
• He was fined 200 dollars for violation of traffic regulation.他因违反交通规则被罚款200美元。

9 scrutiny   

n.详细检查，仔细观察

参考例句：

• His work looks all right,but it will not bear scrutiny.他的工作似乎很好，但是经不起仔细检查。
• Few wives in their forties can weather such a scrutiny.很少年过四十的妻子经得起这么仔细的观察。

10 violations   

违反( violation的名词复数 )； 冒犯； 违反（行为、事例）； 强奸

参考例句：

• This is one of the commonest traffic violations. 这是常见的违反交通规则之例。
• These violations of the code must cease forthwith. 这些违犯法规的行为必须立即停止。

11 subjective   

a.主观(上)的，个人的

参考例句：

• The way they interpreted their past was highly subjective. 他们解释其过去的方式太主观。
• A literary critic should not be too subjective in his approach. 文学评论家的看法不应太主观。

12 federation   

n.同盟，联邦，联合，联盟，联合会

参考例句：

• It is a federation of 10 regional unions.它是由十个地方工会结合成的联合会。
• Mr.Putin was inaugurated as the President of the Russian Federation.普京正式就任俄罗斯联邦总统。