London Olympics 2012: Belden for the Gold in Telecast Fiber Systems

How many of you tuned into the summer 2012 Olympics this year? You probably weren’t thinking of how you were able to view the games from worlds away or which companies supplied what products to enable the use of innovative technology, such as the big HD screens used by the audience for viewing.
Belden played an exciting role in making the games come to life—supplying cabling, production solutions and technology from their Telecast Fiber Systems brand.

One of Belden’s employees had the pleasure of attending the games this year and a chance to see his company’s contribution first hand. The article below contains an interview with him illustrating his experience.

Post originally appeared on Belden’s Blog.

Belden cable, Miranda production solutions and technology from our Telecast Fiber Systems brand were part of the reason the 2012 London Olympic Games were successfully broadcast to millions of people worldwide. Not to mention the over five million lucky Olympic attendees watching the big HD screens to see events up close and personal.

One of our employees, Account Manager James Sigler, had a great time attending the Olympics with his wife, Beverly. The following is a Q&A with James about his time at the Olympics and what it was like knowing Belden had such a big part in such an important world event.

What made you decide to attend the Olympic Games?

My wife is a USA Track and Field Level 3 coach and was part of a group of coaches who took the USA Junior team to Czech Republic in 2008. While there, she coached a young man, Christian Taylor. She was invited to participate in the Olympics but elected to forgo the actual coaching process because she wouldn’t see him compete.

We had no idea where in the stadium we would sit after ordering our tickets online. Coaches are not allowed on the field but can sit in the first few rows near the actual event. Imagine our surprise when we entered the Olympic Stadium and were sitting in the 19^th row immediately in front of the triple jump pit! My wife cried when she saw our proximity to the event and the realization of her dream to see an athlete she coached perform at the Olympic level.

Christian Taylor scratched two times, but qualified for the final on his third try. On his third jump, he beat his best jump of the year to win the Gold Medal!

What events did you attend?

We were part of the over one million that attended the men's Triathlon in Hyde Park. We also watched the Men's Decathlon Javelin, Men's Decathlon 1500M, Men's Triple Jump, World Record setting Men's 800M, Women's 4X100M Relay Semi-finals, Men's 200M Final (The Usain Bolt and Jamaica sweep), Women's Javelin Semi-Finals, Women's 800M Semi-Finals. We attended so many Medal Ceremonies for Women's 200M(USA Gold and Bronze), Women's 400M Hurdles, Men's Triple Jump, Men's 200M. We were able to sing the United States national anthem so much that night I lost my voice!

What was your favorite event to watch?

Being there specifically for the triple jump made that very special to us, but the stadium’s reaction to the new World Record in 800M and watching Usain Bolt and Jamaica sweep the 200M were incredible. Finally, after the US won Gold in Decathlon, rather than the winners walking around the track with their flags all Decathlon competitors went together with their flags.

What was your favorite moment?

We arrived three hours early to the stadium. Everyone was there and many were wearing their flags draped over themselves. For fun, I took pictures of as many different flags and their owners as I saw. It was unbelievable how diverse the crowd was yet everyone had the same feeling of just being there together and participating in a world event.

It was great to see the UK country pull together for their home team. In London, we found that people everywhere were willing to help and an enjoyable, festive environment.

Tell us about Stadium in relation to Belden and its products.

I knew we had "cabled" the Olympics. Running immediately beside my wife's seat was a huge bundle of Belden cables. There were six or seven huge video screens with incredible clarity just in the stadium. There had to be literally miles of cable for each event and amazingly there were no visible control or media trucks. Somehow they managed to hide those.

What was it like knowing Belden helped support the Olympic Games?

I told many people about our participation and our longstanding relationship with the Olympics. I was really proud to have that connection.