Very cool piece on what makes a pool fast.
Some other good nerdy links on engineering at the Olympics there.
Wow, that’s super cool! I wonder if they’ll open the center up for lap swimming after the Olympics? The pool geek in me really wants to see that place.
That’s cool, thanks for the link. Unfortunately, they didn’t design anything new that other places haven’t already been doing.
-flow over gutters
-wave eater lane lines
-min depth 8ft (they did 10’)
-wide lane lines (8ft is great)
Other things I wish they would have mentioned and are always a concern in pools:
-how and where the water enters the pool (jets, ports, diffusers at the bottom, etc.) Bad design can cause unwanted and unfare currents
-In international competition, they use touch pads at both ends. At the starting end, they block the water’s ability to “flow through”. How was this addressed if it was at all. If not, you get a huge wave when everyone turns, if out in front, great, if not, it hits you head on. Big deal in relays.
-Water temp–> tell us what it is, why, and what is optimal. Normally it’s 25C or 77F.
Also, what about lighting, newer high-tech starting blocks, wall material to prevent slipping on turns, etc.
That’s just me being a curious and picky little enginerd:)
Yeah cool, but nothing new. When I was in college I worked at the aquatic center in Federal Way WA. and it is pretty much the same. That pool was built for the 1990 goodwill games. No offense Rappstar
Well it was new and cool to me. Thanks for sharing.
The coolest new thing I remember reading about was the air vacuum system in Beijing. It sucked the chlorinated air off the surface of the water so that the swimmers got “better” air.
Agreed, nothing revolutionary in that video, but I recall some people asking, “what makes a pool fast,” and that’s a nice, simple explanation.
I don’t think the London pool is particularly revolutionary, but it is neat for folks that only ever swim in a YMCA to see what can be done to make a pool “fast.”
but it is neat for folks that only ever swim in a YMCA to see what can be done to make a pool “fast.”
As a novice swimmer, it is nice to now have an understanding as to the differences between pools, and now know that there is a reason why there is a difference even between the two YMCA pools I swim at.
I remember seeing a video of a 100 in a “non fast” pool. You could visually see the swell building in a wedge in front of the swimmers. The first two made it through ok, but when the others went to make their turns it looked like a washing machine and they got wrecked.
Fast or not, the biggest factor on me is always temp. a lot of swim lessons and/or the aqua floaters complain = swimming in maple syrup.
Thanks for the post…checking out the other videos during tape delay wait.
did you catch the bit about the variable depth? not sure how common that is …
but it is neat for folks that only ever swim in a YMCA to see what can be done to make a pool “fast.”
As a novice swimmer, it is nice to now have an understanding as to the differences between pools, and now know that there is a reason why there is a difference even between the two YMCA pools I swim at.
The simplest answer is often the correct one - clearly one of your YMCA pools is downhill in one direction, making it faster… 
but it is neat for folks that only ever swim in a YMCA to see what can be done to make a pool “fast.”
As a novice swimmer, it is nice to now have an understanding as to the differences between pools, and now know that there is a reason why there is a difference even between the two YMCA pools I swim at.
The simplest answer is often the correct one - clearly one of your YMCA pools is downhill in one direction, making it faster…
But it’s faster both ways. Maybe my weight tips the pool slightly…