The swimming events at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games will be just like any other Olympic Games, with passionate spectators, close competition and incredible efforts from some of the world’s best athletes.
But swimmers are starting to notice a clear difference in the pool when they look up at the scoreboard after a race to see their times.
They are slow.
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Team USA’s Gretchen Walsh competes in the women’s 100m butterfly final at the Paris Olympic Games at Paris-La Defense Arena in Nanterre, France on July 28, 2024. (Maddy Meyer/Getty Images)
As Yahoo Sports As noted, in the men’s 100m breaststroke final, veteran American swimmer Nick Fink won the silver medal in 59.05 seconds, the same time as Great Britain’s Adam Peaty, while Italy’s Nicolo Martinenghi won the gold medal by just 0.2 seconds in 59:03.
But his time in this thrilling race would not have earned him a higher finish than eighth, the lowest place he placed in the final, at the Tokyo Olympics.
In the women’s competition, American legend Katie Ledecky failed to break four minutes in the 400m freestyle, taking the bronze medal, while gold medalist Ariarne Titmus of Australia shocked the world by not even setting her personal best.
Olympic announcer breaks silence after being taken off air for comments about Australian women’s swimming team
So what will be the issues during the swimming competition in Paris? The main concern Yahoo Sports is hearing from swimmers is the depth of the pool.
The pool at Paris’ La Défense arena is 2.15 metres deep, despite World Aquatics’ recommendation that Olympic pools be three metres deep, and the federation’s sport has a new minimum standard, set at 2.5 metres.
More specifically, swimmers feel the effect of the water “rippling” during a race as waves bounce off the bottom of a shallow pool.
Leon Marchand of the French team competes in the men’s 400m individual medley final at the Paris Olympic Games to be held at the Paris-La Defense Arena in Nanterre, France on July 28, 2024. (Adam Pretty/Getty Images)
While some may disagree, Ken Ono told Yahoo Sports in an email that he’d heard “several competitors” say they “had to modify their dives off the blocks (slightly).”
“This pool is faster than the ones at the local swimming club, but it’s not ideal for setting records,” Ono added.
Peaty, the world record holder in the 100m breaststroke, said the slowness was “weird.”
“Time doesn’t matter. In the Olympics it’s all about placement,” U.S. women’s freestyle swimmer Paige Madden told Yahoo Sports.
It may not be a record, but they were still “in the same boat” and all won medals.
There are still many swimming events to come and many more world records for the athletes to pursue.
Qin Haiyang of China and Arno Kamminga of the Netherlands compete during the men’s 100m breaststroke qualifying event at the Paris Olympic Games at the Paris-La Defense Arena in Nanterre, France on July 27, 2024. (Adam Pretty/Getty Images)
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But if these first races are any indication of things to come, world records will almost certainly be broken in Paris.
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