In terms of record numbers, these are the worst Olympic Games in 28 years.
At the 2024 Olympics 21 Olympic and four world records were set in Paris in swimming. In this respect, the Games in France were the worst in the last 28 years. Experts blame the “slow pool” for this, although there is no official study yet on how the venue affected the athletes’ results.
The pool where the competitions took place was built specifically for the 2024 Olympics on the grounds of La Defense Arena, a multi-purpose facility built in 2017 that is the home of the Racing 92 rugby club, as well as a venue for large-scale concerts, exhibitions and seminars.
The depth of the temporary pool for the 2024 Olympics (it will be dismantled after the Games) is only 2.15 meters. This is less than the depth recommended by the International Federation for the Olympics of 3 meters. Moreover, the minimum permissible depth standard for major international competitions is now 2.5 meters. How was the arena allowed to participate in the 2024 Games? It’s simple: at the time of certification, the world standard was still 2 meters.
How does the depth of the pool affect the results? According to experts, when the athletes turned, when they pushed off from the side with their feet, due to the shallower depth, the water under the athletes, hitting the bottom of the pool, bubbled too much, creating additional obstacles for the competitors, writes Sportico.
Paris’s record figures do look a bit of a letdown compared to similar figures from other Olympics. On the other hand, the “deviations from the norm” are small. The 2012 and 2016 Games saw 23 and 25 Olympic records broken, respectively, while the 2020 Olympics saw only six world records set.
Only the record figures of the 2008 Games stand out against the general background – 25 world and 65 Olympic records. However, there is an explanation for this. At the Beijing Olympics, many of the athletes competed in Speedo suits, designed to make the body more hydrodynamic. Two years later, FINA banned the use of wetsuits, but some of the records of the 2008 Olympic Games have not been broken to this day.
Source: Sportarena
I’m Todderic Kirkman, a journalist and author for athletistic. I specialize in covering all news related to sports, ranging from basketball to football and everything in between. With over 10 years of experience in the industry, I have become an invaluable asset to my team. My ambition is to bring the most up-to-date information on sports topics around the world.
