diff --git a/spring-core/src/main/java/org/springframework/util/StopWatch.java b/spring-core/src/main/java/org/springframework/util/StopWatch.java
index 0c97499113..13f2b626a2 100644
--- a/spring-core/src/main/java/org/springframework/util/StopWatch.java
+++ b/spring-core/src/main/java/org/springframework/util/StopWatch.java
@@ -1,5 +1,5 @@
 /*
- * Copyright 2002-2014 the original author or authors.
+ * Copyright 2002-2015 the original author or authors.
  *
  * Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
  * you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
@@ -87,6 +87,16 @@ public class StopWatch {
 	}
 
 
+	/**
+	 * Return the id of this stop watch, as specified on construction.
+	 * @return the id (empty String by default)
+	 * @since 4.2.2
+	 * @see #StopWatch(String)
+	 */
+	public String getId() {
+		return this.id;
+	}
+
 	/**
 	 * Determine whether the TaskInfo array is built over time. Set this to
 	 * "false" when using a StopWatch for millions of intervals, or the task
@@ -116,15 +126,15 @@ public class StopWatch {
 		if (this.running) {
 			throw new IllegalStateException("Can't start StopWatch: it's already running");
 		}
-		this.startTimeMillis = System.currentTimeMillis();
 		this.running = true;
 		this.currentTaskName = taskName;
+		this.startTimeMillis = System.currentTimeMillis();
 	}
 
 	/**
 	 * Stop the current task. The results are undefined if timing
 	 * methods are called without invoking at least one pair
-	 * {@link #start()} / {@link #stop()} methods.
+	 * {@code #start()} / {@code #stop()} methods.
 	 * @see #start()
 	 */
 	public void stop() throws IllegalStateException {
@@ -144,11 +154,21 @@ public class StopWatch {
 
 	/**
 	 * Return whether the stop watch is currently running.
+	 * @see #currentTaskName()
 	 */
 	public boolean isRunning() {
 		return this.running;
 	}
 
+	/**
+	 * Return the name of the currently running task, if any.
+	 * @since 4.2.2
+	 * @see #isRunning()
+	 */
+	public String currentTaskName() {
+		return this.currentTaskName;
+	}
+
 
 	/**
 	 * Return the time taken by the last task.
@@ -217,7 +237,7 @@ public class StopWatch {
 	 * Return a short description of the total running time.
 	 */
 	public String shortSummary() {
-		return "StopWatch '" + this.id + "': running time (millis) = " + getTotalTimeMillis();
+		return "StopWatch '" + getId() + "': running time (millis) = " + getTotalTimeMillis();
 	}
 
 	/**
@@ -302,7 +322,7 @@ public class StopWatch {
 		 * Return the time in seconds this task took.
 		 */
 		public double getTimeSeconds() {
-			return this.timeMillis / 1000.0;
+			return (this.timeMillis / 1000.0);
 		}
 	}
 
diff --git a/spring-core/src/test/java/org/springframework/util/StopWatchTests.java b/spring-core/src/test/java/org/springframework/util/StopWatchTests.java
index 4170f55624..e039b2555e 100644
--- a/spring-core/src/test/java/org/springframework/util/StopWatchTests.java
+++ b/spring-core/src/test/java/org/springframework/util/StopWatchTests.java
@@ -1,6 +1,5 @@
-
 /*
- * Copyright 2002-2013 the original author or authors.
+ * Copyright 2002-2015 the original author or authors.
  *
  * Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
  * you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
@@ -21,6 +20,7 @@ import junit.framework.TestCase;
 
 /**
  * @author Rod Johnson
+ * @author Juergen Hoeller
  */
 public class StopWatchTests extends TestCase {
 
@@ -28,7 +28,8 @@ public class StopWatchTests extends TestCase {
 	 * Are timings off in JUnit?
 	 */
 	public void testValidUsage() throws Exception {
-		StopWatch sw = new StopWatch();
+		String id = "myId";
+		StopWatch sw = new StopWatch(id);
 		long int1 = 166L;
 		long int2 = 45L;
 		String name1 = "Task 1";
@@ -38,6 +39,7 @@ public class StopWatchTests extends TestCase {
 		sw.start(name1);
 		Thread.sleep(int1);
 		assertTrue(sw.isRunning());
+		assertEquals(name1, sw.currentTaskName());
 		sw.stop();
 
 		// TODO are timings off in JUnit? Why do these assertions sometimes fail
@@ -54,14 +56,20 @@ public class StopWatchTests extends TestCase {
 
 		assertTrue(sw.getTaskCount() == 2);
 		String pp = sw.prettyPrint();
-		assertTrue(pp.indexOf(name1) != -1);
-		assertTrue(pp.indexOf(name2) != -1);
+		assertTrue(pp.contains(name1));
+		assertTrue(pp.contains(name2));
 
 		StopWatch.TaskInfo[] tasks = sw.getTaskInfo();
 		assertTrue(tasks.length == 2);
 		assertTrue(tasks[0].getTaskName().equals(name1));
 		assertTrue(tasks[1].getTaskName().equals(name2));
-		sw.toString();
+
+		String toString = sw.toString();
+		assertTrue(toString.contains(id));
+		assertTrue(toString.contains(name1));
+		assertTrue(toString.contains(name2));
+
+		assertEquals(id, sw.getId());
 	}
 
 	public void testValidUsageNotKeepingTaskList() throws Exception {
@@ -92,8 +100,11 @@ public class StopWatchTests extends TestCase {
 
 		assertTrue(sw.getTaskCount() == 2);
 		String pp = sw.prettyPrint();
-		assertTrue(pp.indexOf("kept") != -1);
-		sw.toString();
+		assertTrue(pp.contains("kept"));
+
+		String toString = sw.toString();
+		assertFalse(toString.contains(name1));
+		assertFalse(toString.contains(name2));
 
 		try {
 			sw.getTaskInfo();