A modern version of the ancient hysplex starting mechanism was reconstructed in the stadium at Nemea, Greece in 1993.
By Intel Free Press
When Usain Bolt, Tyson Gay and Justin Gatlin kneel in the starting blocks for the men's 100 meters at the 2012 London Olympic Games, a phalanx of timing and monitoring equipment will ensure a fair start.
The cutting-edge technology that starts the race that unofficially crowns the world's fastest man actually descends from crude catapult tech used to start sprints at the ancient Greek Olympiad.