Epson today announced its sponsorship of the 11th IAAF* World Championships in Athletics, to be held in Osaka, Japan, from August 25 to September 2, 2007. This will be the sixth time that the company has sponsored the Championships as an official IT Partner since its initial involvement in the Athens Games of 1997.

This year's Championships will involve more than two thousand of the world's finest athletes from over two hundred countries and territories. With an estimated total of more than six billion viewers worldwide, the event ranks not only as the world's leading tournament for track and field events, but also as the largest sporting event to be held in 2007, and the biggest ever to be held in Osaka.

Coordinating a global event on the scale of the IAAF World Championships poses an immense IT challenge. But with speed, accuracy and reliability essential prerequisites for any system, this is a challenge that provides the perfect stage for Epson to showcase its technological prowess. With the original Epson Performance Evaluation (EPE) System, for example, TV viewers will be able to enjoy field events as never before, thanks to three-dimensional analysis of the long jump and triple jump shown immediately after the jump. Moreover, this analysis enables athletes to better understand and thus improve their performances. And with its unique Commentator Information System (CIS), Epson is able to collate and transmit results from the track and field in real time, in addition to a host of information about both the athletes and previous events. This up-to-the-minute information forms the basis for the data provided to enthusiastic athletics fans worldwide by TV and Internet media, including the official IAAF website.

These systems will be backed by an international team of approximately 50 Epson technical staff, with other support to include high-speed, high-performance laser printers for the pressroom and for all the printing needs of the local organizing committee. In a world where fractions of a second or a millimeter can mean the difference between success and failure, Epson's high precision systems play an integral role in ensuring that the Championships run smoothly.

"Epson believes that the spirit of challenge and the desire to exceed shown by the athletes matches perfectly with its corporate ethos of creativity and challenge," said Seiji Hanaoka, President, Seiko Epson Corporation. "And just as the athletes drive themselves to exceed ever higher targets, we are dedicated to providing products and services that exceed the expectations of our customers. This is embodied in our global tagline - Exceed Your Vision."

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