Is the shallow pool in Paris really slowing Olympic swimmers down?

Paris Olympics sees drought of world records in swimming events due to possible pool depth affecting performance.

There has been plenty of rain, sweat and tears shed at the Paris Olympics this week. But the pool at the heart of La Defénce Arena has suffered a drought of world records that has athletes and officials scratching their heads.

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After five days, Paris 2024 has seen only a single world record fall in a swimming event. That compares with six new swimming world records set at Tokyo in 2021 and eight at Rio in 2018. Even the much-hyped women’s 400 metre freestyle – billed as the “race of the century” – failed to topple any personal bests from the three most recent world-record holders, Ariarne Titmus (Australia), Summer McIntosh (Canada) and Katie Ledecky (United States).

To earn a spot on the winners’ podium, of course, place – not pace – is what matters. But the near-absence of the letters WR alongside any of the finishing times on the Olympic scoreboard has coaches, competitors and commentators searching for a culprit.

Several athletes, including Titmus, have pointed to problems with the accommodation, food and transport at the games. And some are pointing to the Olympic pool itself with cries of “J’accuse…!”

It is undeniable that the pool at La Défence Arena is shallower than at recent Olympics. It’s 2.15m deep – deeper than the required minimum of 2m but quite a bit shallower than the standard 3m used at the Tokyo and Rio games.

Why would this make a difference? Well, when swimmers dive into the pool and power through the water, they naturally create waves that radiate outwards. Some of these waves will propagate along the surface of the pool and be damped by gutters at the edge. Others will travel downward, bounce off the bottom of the pool, and return to the surface to create turbulence.