It’s been almost two weeks since the swimming competitions wrapped up at the Paris 2024 Olympics, with the closing ceremony taking place on August 12.
This year’s games sparked a lot of buzz, partly due to the questionable depth of the pool at the Defense Arena, where world records were slow to fall. Visible waves more prominent than normal in pools of this stature led spectators wondering if they might be contributing to slower times.
It got me thinking: are there any “slow” pools where world records have still been set? And how deep are the pools where current records were made?
Below, I’ve put together a list of current records, including the depth of the pools they were set in. Like we’ve talked about before, most Olympic pools are around 3 meters deep, and most of the current world records were set in pools like that. There is a bit of a feedback bias here – most big meets choose deeper pools for competition, and big meets are where the most World Records are set. I still think it’s interesting to review.
ARE THERE WORLD RECORDS SET IN SHALLOW POOLS?
Absolutely. Aside from the four world records set during the Paris Olympics, there are three other records made in pools with depths of less than 3 meters. One of these is the men’s 50m freestyle world record, which, while set with a super suit, was made by Cesar Cielo in his home pool at the Pinheiros Club in São Paulo. That pool’s depth ranges from 2.10m to 2.30m.
If we leave out super-suited records, two stand out: Sarah Sjostrom’s 50m butterfly and Ariarne Titmus’s 200m freestyle.
One theory floated around by an Ivy League-educated Olympic gold medalist is that water depth is less important in permanent pools than in temporary pools, because of less cavitation of the body of the structure creating less waves.
Sjöstrom set her record 10 years ago during the Swedish National Championships on July 5, 2014, in Borås at the Borås Simarena, which has a depth of only 2 meters. This record is also the longest-standing (excluding Liu Zige’s “unbeatable” 200m butterfly) among women’s records.
More recently, Ariarne Titmus set a new 200m freestyle record just a month and a half before the Paris Games. On July 12, 2024, during the Australian Olympic Trials in Brisbane, Titmus clocked in at 1:52.23, beating the record her teammate Mollie O’Callaghan had set at the Fukuoka World Championships in 2023. This record came from the Queensland Aquatic Centre at the Sleeman Sport Complex, which also has a depth of 2 meters.
Interestingly, in this same Brisbane pool during the June Trials, Kaylee McKeown (who holds the world record in the women’s 200m backstroke) swam the second-fastest time ever, just 0.16 seconds off her record of 2:03.14.
These examples show us that pool depth isn’t everything when it comes to breaking records. A record that’s lasted a decade was set in a 2-meter deep pool, just as a record set weeks before the Paris Games was made in a pool shallower than the one in Paris.
SO, WAS THIS THE SLOWEST OLYMPICS EVER?
Not really. Looking at Olympic and world records from past Games, the number of records set in Paris isn’t all that different from Rio 2016. Paris saw four world records, while Tokyo 2021 had six, but keep in mind only three years have passed since then.
When we consider both Olympic and world records, Paris saw 21 new records across 20 events. Tokyo had 21 records across 33 events, while Rio had 23 records across just 12 events.
OLYMPIC AND WORLD RECORDS SET AT RECENT GAMES:
- Paris 2024: 21 records (20 events), 4 WR
- Tokyo 2021: 33 records (21 events), 6 WR
- Rio 2016: 23 records (12 events), 8 WR (7 events)
Interestingly, the most “disappointing” performances seemed to happen during the early finals, like the podium for the 100m breaststroke, which took place on day two. Meanwhile, the best performances, including world records, came in the final days, such as Pan Zhanle‘s record on day 5 or the women’s medley relay on day 8.
I’ll leave these thoughts here for now, waiting for more answers—many of which have already come from the Olympic champions pushing boundaries once again.
LIST OF RECORDS WITH POOL DEPTHS
WOMEN’S WORLD RECORD
| Event | SWIMMER | TIME | LOCATION | DEPTH | DATE |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 50m freestyle | Sarah Sjostrom | 23.61 | Fukuoka, Japan | 3m | 29 July 2023 |
| 100m freestyle | Sarah Sjostrom | 51.71 | Budapest, Hungary | 3m | 23 July 2017 |
| 200m freestyle | Ariarne Titmus | 1:52.23 | Brisbane, Australia | 2m | 12 June 2024 |
| 400m freestyle | Ariarne Titmus | 3:55.38 | Fukuoka, Japan | 3m | 23 July 2023 |
| 800m freestyle | Katie Ledecky | 8:04.79 | Rio de Janeiro, Brazil | 3m | 12 August 2016 |
| 1500m freestyle | Katie Ledecky | 15:20.48 | Indianapolis, United States | 3m | 16 May 2018 |
| 50m backstroke | Kaylee McKeown | 26.86 | Budapest, Hungary | 3m | 20 October 2023 |
| 100m backstroke | Regan Smith | 57.13 | Indianapolis, United States | 3m | 18 June 2024 |
| 200m backstroke | Kaylee McKeown | 2:03.14 | Sydney, Australia | 3m | 10 March 2023 |
| 50m breaststroke | Ruta Meilutyte | 29.16 | Fukuoka, Japan | 3m | 30 July 2023 |
| 100m breaststroke | Lilly King | 1:04.13 | Budapest, Hungary | 3m | 25 July 2017 |
| 200m breaststroke | Evgeniia Chikunova | 2:17.55 | Kazan, Russia | 3m | 21 April 2023 |
| 50m butterfly | Sarah Sjostrom | 24.43 | Borås, Sweden | 2m | 5 July 2014 |
| 100m butterfly | Gretchen Walsh | 55.18 | Indianapolis, United States | 3m | 15 June 2024 |
| 200m butterfly | Liu Zige | 2:01.81 | Jinan, China | supersuit, pool’s depth unknown | 21 October 2009 |
| 200m individual medley | Katinka Hosszu | 2:06.12 | Kazan, Russia | 3m | 3 August 2015 |
| 400m individual medley | Summer McIntosh | 4:24.38 | Toronto, Canada | 3m | 16 May 2024 |
| 4 × 100 m freestyle relay | Australia | 3:27.96 | Fukuoka, Japan | 3m | 23 July 2023 |
| 4 x 200 m freestyle relay | Australia | 7:37.50 | Fukuoka, Japan | 3m | 27 July 2023 |
| 4 x 100 m medley relay | United States | 3:49.63 | Paris, France | 2.15m | 4 August 2024 |
MEN’S WORLD RECORD
| Event | SWIMMER | TIME | LOCATION | DEPTH | DATE |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 50m freestyle | Cesar Cielo | 20.91 | São Paulo, Brazil | supersuit, 2.10-2.30m | 18 December 2009 |
| 100m freestyle | Pan Zhanle | 46.40 | Paris, France | 2.15m | 31 July 2024 |
| 200m freestyle | Paul Biedermann | 1:42.00 | Rome, Italy | supersuit, 3m | 28 July 2009 |
| 400m freestyle | Paul Biedermann | 3:40.07 | Rome, Italy | supersuit, 3m | 26 July 2009 |
| 800m freestyle | Zhang Lin | 7:32.12 | Rome, Italy | supersuit, 3m | 29 July 2009 |
| 1500m freestyle | Bobby Finke | 14:30.67 | Paris, France | 2.15m | 4 August 2024 |
| 50m backstroke | Kliment Kolesnikov | 23.55 | Kazan, Russia | 3m | 27 July 2023 |
| 100m backstroke | Thomas Ceccon | 51.60 | Budapest, Hungary | 3m | 20 June 2022 |
| 200m backstroke | Aaron Peirsol | 1:51.92 | Rome, Italy | supersuit, 3m | 30 July 2009 |
| 50m breaststroke | Adam Peaty | 25.95 | Budapest, Hungary | 3m | 25 July 2017 |
| 100m breaststroke | Adam Peaty | 56.88 | Gwangju, South Korea | 3m | 21 July 2019 |
| 200m breaststroke | Qin Haiyang | 2:05.48 | Fukuoka, Japan | 3m | 28 July 2023 |
| 50m butterfly | Andriy Govorov | 22.27 | Rome, Italy | 3m | 1 July 2018 |
| 100m butterfly | Caeleb Dressel | 49.45 | Tokyo, Japan | 3.02m | 30 July 2021 |
| 200m butterfly | Kristof Milak | 1:50.34 | Budapest, Hungary | 3m | 21 June 2022 |
| 200m individual medley | Ryan Lochte | 1:54.00 | Shanghai, China | 3m | 28 July 2011 |
| 400m individual medley | Leon Marchand | 4:02.50 | Fukuoka, Japan | 3m | 23 July 2023 |
| 4 × 100 m freestyle relay | United States | 3:08.24 | Beijing, China | supersuit, 3m | 11 August 2008 |
| 4 x 200 m freestyle relay | United States | 6:58.55 | Rome, Italy | supersuit, 3m | 31 July 2009 |
| 4 x 100 m medley relay | United States | 3:26.78 | Tokyo, Japan | 3.02m | 31 July 2021 |
MIXED WORLD RECORDS
| 4 x 100 m mixed freestyle relay | Australia | 3:18.83 | Fukuoka, Japan | 3m | 27 July 2023 |
| 4 x 100 m mixed medley relay | United States | 3:37.43 | Paris, France | 2.15m | 3 August 2024 |
Someone needs to do a study with multiple groups swimming in pools of ranging depths.
I wonder if it were true that deeper pools help, how deep can you get before the depth is moot, like a 4 or 7 meter deep pool.
Out of curiosity, what’s the impact of pool depth in SCM and SCY pools?
Feel like it’s fairly evident the men’s 100 breaststroke is an outlier in what was a generally fairly fast swim meet. You could point to the McIntosh and Marchand 400 IMs as well, but both were on PBs later in the program and both had swam otherworldly swims in the 400 IM previously that were hard to equal (particularly for McIntosh, who went out way harder in Paris than she did on her WR).
Perhaps the competitiveness of the race has a bigger impact in shallow pools
The 100 breast was quite close and arguably the slowest event with lots of competitors with a shot to win. Mens 100 fr not so close so less waves for the winner
Men’s mile bigger separation between 2-8
FINA/WORLD AQUATICS should simply mandate that certain pools are 3 meter deep, plus or minus, say, 3 cm. End the controversy; end the speculation
I haven’t seen any of the medalists complain about the pool depth. Has anyone like Marchand or Peaty said anything about the depth?
Maybe in the first few days, the pool jets/circulation were ON during swims?
Sarah Sjostrom has to be on anyone’s short list of the greatest female swimmers ever, what with all her world records, her longevity, and especially now, with three individual Olympic gold medals to her name. But since this article is about the ever-so-slight advantages conferred by pool conditions, and since it mentions Sjostrom’s 50 fly WR, it could be pointed out that that record might be considered “wind-aided.” At the beginning of the race, you can see the canvas tops of the umbrellas behind her flapping a bit, and it’s hard to believe that there was exactly zero advantage conferred by this. She’s been at the top of her game for a long time, and (as of 2023) had 16… Read more »