Apolo Anton Ohno and Omega at the 2010 Vancouver Olympic Games © IOC/Richard Juilliart

Newest brand ambassador on his way to Olympic history in Vancouver

Vancouver, BC, Feb. 13, 2010 – American speed skating star Apolo Anton Ohno added to his Olympic medal total when he claimed silver in the 1500-metre short track event at Vancouver 2010 Olympic Winter Games. OMEGA’s newest brand ambassador tied Bonnie Blair as the most decorated American Winter Olympian of all time.

Korean Lee Jung-Su won the gold medal and Ohno’s countryman J. R. Celski finished third to claim the bronze.

OMEGA began its Olympic timekeeping tradition at the Los Angeles 1932 Olympic Games. In addition to its prominent role as the Official Timekeeper of the Olympic Games, OMEGA has been behind many of the most important technological developments in all of sports timekeeping – including new technologies for the sport of speed skating, many of which Ohno has experienced first-hand.

“In my sport, where the difference between a gold, silver and bronze medal comes down to 1/1000 of a second, OMEGA’s cutting-edge timekeeping technology and unmatched accuracy give me the confidence to keep my focus on performing my absolute best,” said Ohno. “I am proud to partner with OMEGA here in Vancouver and help celebrate the brand’s rich Olympic history. It is an absolute honour to receive their support and be part of a brand that means so much to the Olympic Movement.”

Apolo Anton Ohno and Omega at the 2010 Vancouver Olympic Games © IOC/Richard Juilliart

At the 1992 Winter Games in Albertville, OMEGA introduced its Scan-O-Vision system for speed skating that digitally measured times to the nearest thousandth of a second as the skaters crossed the finish ligne. The system effectively photographed time by fusing time and continuous picture in a single document, heralding a new chapter in the science of timekeeping. At the Winter Games in Turin in 2006, where Ohno won three medals, transponders were strapped to the ankles of speed skaters so that timekeepers might capture a moment of sudden acceleration, the speed round a hairpin bend, or the abrupt end to a challenge as a racer crashed to the ice.

As the newest member of the OMEGA family, Ohno will wear the OMEGA Seamaster Planet Ocean Olympic Timeless Collection Chronograph. To celebrate his relationship with the brand, Ohno will visit the recently-opened OMEGA Boutique in Vancouver for a special appearance following his performance at the Games, and will visit the OMEGA Flagship Boutique in New York City for a special appearance upon his return to the United States.

“We are very proud to support Apolo here in Vancouver and congratulate him on his outstanding performance,” said OMEGA President Stephen Urquhart. “He is poised to make history of his own here and we are thrilled that he is part of the OMEGA family.”

A five-time Olympic medallist, Ohno is currently tied for the most career winter medals by a U.S. man. He has won an Olympic medal in every event that he has competed, capturing gold (1500m) and silver (1000m) medals at the Salt Lake City 2002 Olympic Winter Games and gold (500m) and two bronze (1000m, 5000m relay) medals at the 2006 Winter Games in Torino. He has been the top American short-track skater since 2001, capturing 12 U.S. National titles, three overall World Cup titles and becoming the first and only American to win the overall World Championships title. The Seattle native’s profile was elevated when he was the winning contestant on the popular American television programme “Dancing with the Stars” in 2007.