The Paris Olympic Pool May Be Handicapping Swimmers

It's shallower, which could be slowing things down
By Kate Seamons,  Newser Staff
Posted Jul 29, 2024 10:15 AM CDT
The Paris Olympic Pool May Be Handicapping Swimmers
Katie Ledecky, of the United States, competes in the women's 400-meter freestyle final at the 2024 Summer Olympics, Saturday, July 27, 2024, in Nanterre, France.   (AP Photo/Ashley Landis)

If the Olympics' swimming events seem slightly less thrilling than usual, in that world records aren't falling despite impressive talent in the water, it may be the pool's fault. That's the argument put forth in the Wall Street Journal, which explains the pool being used for these Games is more shallow than most, at 2.2 meters, or 7.2 feet. Previous Olympics have typically relied on 3-meter pools, which are about 2.7 feet deeper, but retrofitting La Defense Arena to support a pool of that depth raised structural concerns. While future Olympic pools will need to have a minimum depth of 2.5 meters, or around 8.2 feet, that regulation wasn't in place when Paris was granted the Games in 2017.

As for why it matters, it all comes down to fluid dynamics, explains the Journal: "Every movement swimmers make with their hands and feet [creates] small waves that rebound off the bottom of the pool," chief among them that first dive into the water. "The shallower the pool, the more those waves ricochet back to the swimmers on the surface, creating a more turbulent aquatic environment that isn't conducive to top speeds." Flip turns can create similar problems.

But John Ireland of Olympic pool designer Myrtha Pools pushes back, saying "there is a negligible impact to swimmers' performance [beyond] 2 meters" of depth. He says other factors could be at play, among them the water temp and the design of the gutters that ring the pool, as their height has an impact on wave splashes, the Independent explains. Temperature-wise, it adds that if the pool is too cold, swimmers won't warm up sufficiently, while water that's too warm can cause them to overheat.

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Whatever the cause, the swimmers do seem slower. The Journal points to the women's 400-meter freestyle final, which Australia's Ariarne Titmus won with a time that was 2 seconds slower than her finish at Australia's June Olympic trials. Katie Ledecky took bronze, with a time that was only her 40th fastest. (More 2024 Paris Olympics stories.)

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