RIO DE JANEIRO _ If you are able to see through the splashing water on your television screen, you might notice something at the bottom of the Olympic pool that has not been there in previous years _ underwater monitors.
In each lane just before the turn wall are what appear to be computer monitors at the bottom of the pool. They are low-power electronic monitors that display how many laps a swimmer has remaining in a given race.
Omega designed the monitors, which were in place at the Rio Olympics to serve as a backup to the traditional, hand-operated lap counters that attendants display above the water as a swimmer is about to make his or her turn. This is the first Olympics for the monitors, which have been used in International Swimming Federation (FINA) events since last year.
"The goal was to get the technology ready, tested and approved before the Rio 2016 Olympic Games which we've achieved," Omega CEO Alain Zobrist told the Tribune.
The monitors ended up playing a more important role than anticipated this week. On Thursday, during the preliminary of the women's 800-freestyle, the handheld lap counters were not available _ a development that angered teams and coaches _ and the only way for swimmers to track their laps (without doing it in their heads) was to look at the monitors.
The manual lap counters were back in place Friday for preliminaries of the men's 1,500 freestyle and the women's 800 final. Some, like Katie Ledecky, said they don't really use the monitors, or any lap counters. Others think the electronic monitors are a success and hope to see more of them.
Leah Smith said her coaches have advised not to pick up her head as she's swimming and she doesn't keep track of the laps in her head, so the monitors are a big help.
"They're actually really nice because at trials, they put it above your lane so you can't see it unless you pick your head up during the race, which you don't want to do," said Smith, who placed sixth in the 800. "So this was nice. You don't even have to pick up your head at all."
Smith said they display black numbers on a gray background. Zobrist said the monitors use a minimal amount of electricity.
"They're obviously waterproofed, but the main challenge is to have a system that supports pressure. We've used a mix of materials to make sure this is achieved," Zobrist said.
Scuba divers check the monitors every day to make sure they are working properly. Zobrist said the monitors can display other information, like lap times, but for now FINA only will approve the lap numbers.
Smith hopes to see them at the U.S. trials and at other races in the future.
"I've never swum in a race with them before," Smith said. "It's my first time and it's not like other pools can have the technology to do that all the time, but it was nice to have it."
