Is a shallow pool to blame for an Olympic swim competition lacking world records?

The atmosphere for Olympic swimming is electrifying.

The times?

Not so much.

Through the first four days of competition in the portable pool at La Defense Arena in Nanterre, France, no world records were set. It's becoming more and more apparent that a truly extraordinary performance will be required to take down an existing standard.

The culprit for the slower-than-expected times appears to be a pool slightly shallower than the optimal depth, which allows a couple of extra rows of prime deck-side seats to remain in use but creates more waves and turbulence rolling up to the surface.

"I've heard the rumblings, but at the end of the day we're here to race," American star Katie Ledecky said. "We're all fast swimmers. We make the pool as fast as we want it to be. I'm not really thinking about it."

Going forward, World Aquatics has mandated a minimum depth of 2.5 metres (8.2 feet) for swimming and water polo events, such as the portable pool that will be installed inside SoFi Stadium for the 2028 Los Angeles Games.

But when the Olympics were awarded to Paris, the temporary facility was approved under previous guidelines that allowed for a depth of 2.2m (7.2 feet).

INTO THE DEEP END OF COVERAGE <br><br>Byron MacDonald’s knowledge of swimming is extraordinary. He’s called every Olympics for the last 40 years. <br><br>He explains why the depth of the pool in Paris is making it difficult for swimmers to break records. <a href="https://t.co/eTpHnox6WT">pic.twitter.com/eTpHnox6WT</a>

For perspective, a three-metre (9.8 feet) pool is considered the optimal depth. At the U.S. trials in Indianapolis, where the portable pool installed in Lucas Oil Stadium was around 2.8m (9.1 feet), two world records were set. 

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