In the last week, we've seen swimmers diving headfirst into the 2024 Paris Olympics pool, limbs gracefully slicing through the water. And yet, world and Olympic records weren't broken at quite the rate some expected, leading many to speculate: Was the pool the culprit?
Reports of a "slow" pool emerged, in part, because the pool is relatively shallow at La Défense Arena, where swimming and water polo events are hosted this Olympics. Measuring roughly 7 feet deep, the pool met World Aquatics' standards when it was designed.
But the governing body began calling for deeper Olympic pools last year: a minimum depth of 8.2 feet.
But is there more to a fast pool than depth?
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This episode was produced by Rachel Carlson. It was edited by our showrunner, Rebecca Ramirez. Rachel, Brian Mann and Bill Chappell checked the facts. The audio engineer was Patrick Murray.
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