Technology revolution in skiing: This is how time measurement becomes a legend!

Technology revolution in skiing: This is how time measurement becomes a legend!

Saalbach-Hinterglemm, Österreich - In alpine skiing, the focus of every event is the precise time measurement. The Swiss company Longines stands behind the scenes of seconds and hundredths of seconds and hundredths of a second that bring legendary athletes like Mikaela Shiffrin or Marco Odermatt. Since its foundation in 1832, Longines has done pioneering work in sports time measurement for over 100 years and has been established as the official timekeeper of the FIS Alpine World Ski Championships 2025 in Saalbach-Hinterglemm. CEO Matthias Breshan emphasizes: "We are currently measuring with a wide variety of technologies-from digital sensors to high-precision photo finish cameras," reports Laola1 .

technological progress in time measurement

A comprehensive technical infrastructure is necessary for the time measurement at World Cup races. Between 1.6 and three tons of material are required to provide everything for precise time measurement. "We need two to three days for the installation, and each race is supported by a complex structure of sensors and cabling," explains Pascal Rossier from Longines. In order to guarantee a smooth process, several interim measurement points along the route are installed so that any movement of the athletes can be recorded in milliseconds. Non -contact sensors on the ski boots also provide data on the speed of the athletes and help to analyze their performance in real time.

But also for the legendary Hahnenkamm races in Kitzbühel, longines ensures exact time measurements. Since 1948, the watch brand was no less than 50 times responsible for this prestigious event. On the occasion of the 76th Hahnenkamm race, Longines has developed a new photo cell called "snowgines", which precisely records the speed of ski runners under all conditions and even measures through safety nets. This innovation shows how closely the brand is connected to Kitzbühel and how it continuously works to perfect the time measurement, to increase the audience experience, as hahnenkamm.com reports.