Annoying reason swimmers probably won’t break any records at Olympics

Swimmers at the Paris Olympics are unlikely to break any world records for a reason that's entirely outside of their control.

You may have noticed that the Olympic swimmers are slower than usual this year.

Fans of the major sporting event were left in shock on Sunday night (28 July) when Team GB star Adam Peaty's breaststroke final was the slowest in Olympic waters in over two decades since Athens 2004.

Olympic swimmers have been scoring some pretty low swim times in this year's Paris Games. (Maddie Meyer / Staff / Getty Images)

Clearly also stunned by the results following the 29-year-old's race, Britain’s Nick Gillingham, the two-time Olympic medallist and former 200m breaststroke world champion, took to X to ask: "Did pool maintenance do a back wash down the pool to speed the water up and slow down the swimmers for this race?"

Why are swimmers slower at Paris Olympics?

Well, the noticeably slower swim times seen across many competing athletes could potentially due to a shallower pool than at recent Games.

Now, the La Défense Arena pool being used for this summer's competition is just 2m 15cm deep.

And while it complies with the minimum depth of 2m, it is 85cm shy of the 3m standard depth seen at the last four Olympic Games which featured three-metre-deep pools, with World Championships pools also usually the same depth.

While it means all the world-record fanatics out there may be disappointed, organisers argued that they did not need the full three-metre depth as the artistic (synchronised) swimming, which does require 3m, is being hosted at a different venue.

Why do shallow pools slow swimmers down?

It's apparently all to do with the La Defense Arena pool depth. (JONATHAN NACKSTRAND / Contributor / Getty Images)

In shallower pools, there is much greater 'turbulence' caused by water being more likely to come back off the floor which, in turn, leads to the water being choppier for athletes to swim through, therefore slowing them down.

In a deeper pool, the force of waves has generally already dissolved prior to it bouncing up off the surfaces, which allows the swimmers to get to the finish line that little bit quicker.

Peaty was awarded the silver medal in the 100m breaststroke on Sunday night (28 July).

Unfortunately for the Olympian, it was Italy’s Nicolò Martinenghi who got the gold medal by 0.02 seconds.

Following the race, a teary Adam said in an interview: "It’s not sad at all, these are happy tears. If you’re willing to put yourself on the line every single time, I think there’s no such thing as a loss. I’m so happy the right man won.

"I’m not defining myself by a medal. I define myself by my heart and what it has made me feel and produce.

"It’s got the best out of me. It’s broken me, this sport, but it’s also given me life, it’s given me everything I am and I am happy to stand here with not really any answers to what that performance is but a happy heart and that is all that matters."

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