"Time measurement in sports not reliable"

According to Erik van den Boogert, the time measurements specialist of the KNSB (dutch skating association), the present basics for time measurement in sports (like iceskating, atletics and swimming) are very indecisive. The IAAF and the FINA also agree that time measurement in thousandths of seconds increases the chance of errors. Since the differences in time are small these inaccurate measurements can make the difference between Gold and Silver.

Phelps (L) and Cavic; Phelps won with 10-thousandth of a second (frame-by-frame)

The time measurement problem exists because the current equipment is not sophisticated enough. It is possible to upgrade the equipment, but that will be very expensive. As a consequence, Tron Espeli said that the ISU would watch whether the rules should require a certain adjustment, but for the time being transparancy is important (see video).

When hearing about the time measurement problem, there are a few questions coming up in our mind, namely:

• Is Usain Bolt maybe slower, or even faster than we think?
• Did Jenny Wolf really defeated Sang-Wha Lee during the Worldcup game in Astana?

and maybe the most important question: 

What consequences does this have for the Olympic Games in London this year? 

Source: NOS.nl