Olympic swimming pool: How deep and long is it and how many gallons does it hold?
With stars like Caeleb Dressel and Katie Ledecky in action, all eyes will soon be on the Olympic pools, but how big are they and how much water do they hold?
After spending $1.5 billion to clean up the Seine, it appears that the plans to hold open-water swimming events in the river have been abandoned such that races will now be held in two large stadiums: The Paris La Defense Arena - the largest indoor sporting venue in Europe - will host competitive swimming and water polo, while the new Aquatics Center will play host to “artistic swimming” and diving. With Team USA having won more than 250 medals in the water expect the action to be intense as they hunt for more.
How long is an Olympic swimming pool?
The standard Olympic pool is 50 meters long, or approximately 164 feet - around the same width as a football field. It should be said that there is some leeway given for touch pads at the starting end and turning end of the pool, resulting in a maximum of 50.030 meters. Now, this is where we get to the rationale. With four primary swim strokes on display (butterfly, freestyle, backstroke, and breaststroke) as well as mixed medley races, pools must allow for a mixture of skills and distances including 50-meter races and 1500-meter events.
How deep is an Olympic swimming pool?
When it comes to depth, there are strict rules and regulations for long pools set by World Aquatics, formerly known as FINA, the international governing body of swimming, water polo, synchronized swimming, and open-water swimming. According to WA, the minimum depth for long swimming must be 2 meters (6.5 feet), but three meters (9.8 feet) are recommended to provide the best environment. You will of course notice that diving is not listed as it understandably requires a different depth. With athletes descending from as high as 32 feet (10 meters), a minimum depth of 16 feet (five meters) is required for safety purposes.
How much water is in an Olympic swimming pool?
Given how many rules exist in Olympic sports far less swimming, it may surprise you to know that there is no official guideline as to how many gallons are in the pool. Yet, the general consensus is that a 50-meter Olympic pool with a minimum depth of two meters uses 660,000 gallons of water. Regardless of the type of pool i.e., long pools or diving pools, the temperature is maintained between 25 and 28 degrees Celsius, while the water level is kept constant with minimum inflow or outflow to avoid any currents.
Where the aforementioned locales are concerned, fans will undoubtedly be impressed when events get underway in Paris. The Aquatic Center for example was was built in the suburb of Saint-Denis specifically for the Olympics and will be used as a neighborhood sports center after the conclusion of the games. On the other hand, the pool at Paris La Defence has been constructed from the ground up on the arena’s floor.
As for the arena itself, fans of the Rolling Stones, Paul McCartney, and even Taylor Swift will almost certainly recognize it as all of them have performed there. Indeed, just this past May part of Swift’s Eras Tour was staged in the famous arena that has clearly seen much more than sporting events there. Olympic swimming gets underway on Saturday morning. Don’t miss it!