Fulfilling one of the promises of the legacies of the 2016 Summer Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, one of the Olympic pools from the Rio Games was moved to its new home in Salvador de Bahia, Brazil.
The Myrtha-built pool is part of the new public Swimming Olympic Centre of Bahia, also referred to as Aquatics Sports Centre of SUDESB. The facility will eventually include two pools – the main competition pool and an additional 25 meter pool – and spectator seating for 500.
This particular pool is one of two matching 50m x 25m x 2m deep pools from the Parque dos Atletas – the training ground for many Olympic athletes prior to competition. It’s twin is destined for a military base in Guarantigueta, near São Paulo, and will be used for military training and competitions.
The water polo pool (14x25x3 meters), which sat just outside of the permanent Maria Lenk Aquatic Center, was moved to Manaus and expanded into a 50 meter pool, while the main Olympic Stadium pool has been purchased for use in another military base, in Fortaleza do Sao Joao in Rio. That pool is 50m x 25m x 3m in size.
Temporary pools built in temporary stadiums or permanent indoor arenas have become the norm for major international aquatics competition. Many of the environmental and sustainability initiatives promised to accompany Rio’s winning bid for the Olympics have fallen flat, including the Seeds of Hope program to plant thousands of seedling trees in the Olympic Park.
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Curious, how expensive are these pools?
If I recall correctly, the pools used for the 2012 and 2016 trials sold for $5M each. They are also myrtha pools, so reasonable to assume these are in the ballpark.