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Swimming legend Dano Halsall receives Omega watch for 20th anniversary of world record

July 2005



20 years ago to the day, Dano Halsall stunned spectators, timekeepers and fellow competitors by smashing the 50 metres freestyle record for the first time in his career, with a time of 22 seconds and 52 hundredths. Omega today commemorates this significant moment in the swimmer’s life by presenting him with its new Planet Ocean watch.

To this day, Dano Halsall remains the only Swiss sportsman to have held a world record in a discipline with official timekeeping. And he managed this feat not just once, but a total of five times over the 50 metre freestyle distance (short and long course). He also has 58 victories in international competitions under his belt and made the finals at the 1984, 1988 and 1992 Olympic Games. Halsall’s performance at national level is equally impressive, with 92 Swiss records and 86 Swiss championship titles – his first being at the age of 15.


Omega


Newly inducted Omega wearer Halsall joins other legendary names from the world of swimming who wear the brand’s renowned divers’ watches. Russian swimming “czar” Alexander Popov has been associated with the brand since 1997 and two of the current top names in the sport, Ian Thorpe and Michael Phelps, also help to promote Omega. Commenting on the gift, Halsall said “I’m touched that Omega decided to commemorate this anniversary. Everyone knows how heavily involved they are in the sport, but this gesture proves just how much they care.”

Swiss watchmaker Omega, a company of the Swatch Group – the world’s biggest watchmaking group – has long been a pioneer in timekeeping at swimming and athletics events. Since becoming the first-ever official timekeeper of the Olympic Games in Los Angeles in 1932, Omega has led the field and seen its name on the Olympic Games scoreboard a staggering twenty times over the course of the last century. This close association with the Olympic Games has led to timekeeping developments such as the Omega Contact Pads for swimming competitions, which were first introduced in 1967 and are now taken for granted at the world’s major competitions.

In the new millennium, OMEGA returns to the Olympic stage as official timekeeper of the 2006 Torino Olympic Winter Games, the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games and the 2010 Vancouver Olympic Winter Games.

Source: Omega

www.omegawatches.com

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