The modern Olympics are quite different than they were just a century ago because of the advent of technology. In 1900, when American Francis Jarvis was declared the winner of the 100 meters, he was said to be “the winner by one foot from Walter Tewksbury, who beat Australian Stan Rowley by inches” (Australian 1). It was not even until the 1932 Olympic Games in Los Angeles that officials began using stop-watch and camera technologies to gauge results. After a delay of several hours, if stop-watch technology could not determine a winner, judges were provided with newsreel footage to help them determine a winner. The significant advance in technologies of all types since the 1930s has dramatically change the nature of the Olympic Games, including the equipment and apparel used by athletes, the devices available to judges to determine winners, and even the games themselves. From aerodynamic swimsuits to electronic real-time coverage of the games, technology has radically changed the Olympics for athletes, judges and spectators. As Jason Powell argues, “More now than ever, technology is playing a significant role in today’s world of sports, and its presence will most certainly play a part in rewriting some of the record books” (1). We will now examine the ways in which technologies have had an impact on the Olympic Games.
The early modern Olympic Games mainly relied on human senses as far as technology is concerned. This was particularly true of judging events. So, too, no cameras existed so radio broadcasts and newspaper reports were how many fans enjoyed the events. Equipment due to technology was either non-existent or what would be considered primitive in comparison to today’s state-of-the-art technologies utilized in all aspects of the Olympic Games. For example, high jumpers and pole-vaulters in Olympic Games before the 1930s did not use landing mats. Sophisticated aerodynamically designed swimsuits, inflat...