Swimming records may not be falling, but it's Olympic gold that matters most
Where is the speed? Where are the world records? Why is the Olympic pool at La Defense Arena so damn slow as the best swimmers in the world gather for some of the most important races of their career?
The questions run deep.
And the closest thing to a real answer: It's not so deep ... literally.
Not one world record has been set through four days of the meet, a rarity for an Olympic Games were the elite have trained for years to unleash peak performances. A handful of Olympic standards have fallen and that's it.
By comparison, three years ago six records tumbled in Tokyo while eight fell at Rio 2016. The meet isn't yet half over, but none of those marks have been seriously threatened.
But does it really mean that much if a record isn't broken when there's an Olympic medal waiting at the first touch of the wall? On the record, athletes and coaches will tell you that at the Olympics, the obsession over times has relented.
“I mean, the pool's 50 metres, and it's 10 lanes,” said Summer Mcintosh, who has won two medals thus far but has yet to record a personal best. “It's an Olympic pool. I don't think any Olympic pool should really be called slow. No matter what, everybody's racing in the same pool. It doesn't matter if it's the fastest pool in the world, slowest pool in the world — I have the same goals.”
That's the public stance from swimmers and coaches. Off the record, the water issue is a little murkier and the facts don't lie. Times are indeed noticeably slower in the first four days of the meet and it has to do with an Olympic pool version of rough waters.
As has been the case at previous Olympics, the pool at La Defense is a temporary structure and, while one that is spectacular for the fans, was built at a depth of 2.15 metres. That's deeper than minimum standards but notably more shallow than most Olympic facilities and the “suggested” depth of 2.5 metres.
Why does that matter? Let Swimming Canada high performance director and national coach John Atkinson explain it.
“It's true the water depth is a factor and the pool here is shallower than previous games. That may be impacting times as deeper water has less turbulence and waves.”
Swimmers aren't capsizing of course and the “waves” aren't clearly detectable, but during the course of a typical day at La Defense, there is plenty of opportunity for churn. There are morning and evening sessions each day and lengthy warm-ups before each. That's a lot of swimmers in the pool and even with the high-tech setup and equipment it's not easy to calm the waters.
What effect does this have? With less room to settle the “chop” in the water, it makes it more difficult to swim through, even if the difference might be subtle.
The absence of record and even a dearth of personal-best performances certainly feels like an oddity in a sport where stopwatches measure everything from splits to starts to turns and especially given how multi-year plans are tailored to induce peak performances at this precise time.
For the most part, coaches and officials are confident it's not compromising their athletes' pursuit of a medal and, in the case of the Olympics, it qualifies as an acceptable outlier.
The times certainly have been baffling, however, and are certainly creating a buzz post race. Just one example — Mcintosh's silver in the 400 freestyle was well off her world record and none of the top three finishers came anywhere near their career best. Third-place finisher Katie Ledecky failed to crack the four-minute barrier for the first time in a major meet.
There has been some suggestion that the “waves” have been hurting athletes who prefer to race on the front, particularly in shorter distances (classified as 200 metres or shorter).
According to Sports Illustrated, in each of those races contested thus far, not one swimmer has held the lead coming out of the final turn.
As they say in horse racing, it has been a closer's track in those races.
The Canadians, anyway, are doing their best not to let it become a distraction and focusing on the purest part of the competition — getting to the wall first.
“The Olympic Games are a unique environment and it comes down to pure racing in the pool,” Atkinson said.
“So the pool is a bit different and that along with other factors, such as distractions, transport and the village, all play a part in this.
“Our team is doing a great job managing all the issues and remaining focused on what they are here to do. Each lane is 50 metres long and the depth is the same for all. At the end of the day, it's all about the race.”