Why Swimmers Scold the Olympic Pool
Water is wet and one can swim at the same speed in a pool all the time, one might think as a layman. But at the Olympic Games in Paris, that's not the case. The slow pool spoils the fun for some athletes.
One might think that records would tumble when the best athletes come together for two weeks. But at the Olympic Games in Paris, there's at least one surprise in swimming: The athletes may have written their names in the history books with medal wins, but not with new records. So far, the virtual record line always comes in first.
And the races are surprisingly slow. The "Washington Post" found out that the Paris Olympic champion over 100 meters breaststroke, the Italian Nicolò Martinenghi, would have only come in eighth in Tokyo three years ago. His gold time was the slowest since 2004, the games in Athens. In the women's 400 meters freestyle final, Isabel Gose set a new German record, but she came in fifth and was the only one to achieve a new record.
But why is that? The water should theoretically be the same. It's also unlikely that all the swimmers who have prepared for years suddenly suffer from a lack of form at the same time. So, the venue must be the reason. The La Defense Arena, where the swimming competitions are held, was built specifically for the games. Normally, it hosts concerts or rugby matches.
The hall was adapted, but because the diving and synchronized swimming events are not held in the same pool, the pool can be shallower. Also, the organizers would have had to forgo spectators with a deeper pool, as the higher the pool, the less space there is for the stands in the arena.
In most competitions, the swimming pool is usually three meters deep, but in Paris, it's only 2.15 meters, just over the minimum. The consequences: "When you swim, you generate waves underwater that go to the bottom, bounce back, and hit you," explained former British Olympian Mark Foster to the BBC. "The more water there is, the less disturbance there is."
This effect is also amplified by the cameras and screens built into the floor, which reflect the waves even more, making the water even more turbulent and causing more eddies.
All this leads to frustration. "The quality of your swim is higher, but in the end, you have a worse time," said DSV national coach Bernd Berkhahn. That's no fun. "If we were swimming in the pool from 1924 here in Paris, everyone would be faster," Berkhahn said. The pool is responsible for not seeing any world-class times or world records.
But there are other factions. Three-time Olympic champion and now NBC expert Rowdy Gaines told the "Washington Post" that the pool might be a bit slow, but the bigger problem is the talk about the pool. It's become a self-fulfilling prophecy. "I think much of it is just a lot of noise about nothing," he said. But British silver medalist Matt Richards sees it differently in the BBC. "No one cares about times at the Olympics. It's all about where you land on the podium. I only care about the placement."
Despite expectations of record-breaking performances at the Olympic Games 2024 in Paris, swimmers have struggled to break previous marks. For instance, the Paris Olympic champion over 100 meters breaststroke, Nicolo Martinenghi, would have only placed eighth in Tokyo three years prior.
The layout and specifications of the La Defense Arena swimming pool in Paris, which hosts the competitions and usually has a depth of only 2.15 meters, are believed to contribute to the slow times.
