Bizarre reason for Paris Olympics pools 'slow times' as 20-year-old record set

On day four of the Paris Olympics hopes for a new world record in swimming are still unfulfilled. T imes at La Defense Arena are proving sluggish , with Britain's Adam Peaty's 100m breaststroke final clocking in as the slowest in 20 years.

It turns out there's a simple reason why the pool at La Defense, which sits in a makeshift conversion of Racing 92's rugby stadium, is nearly a third less deep than the norm. The temporary 50m pool has a depth of just 2.17m; not enough when compared to FINA's optimal 3m, leading to excess turbulence from the swimmer's strokes that slows times.

Mark Foster, former Team GB swimmer providing analysis for the BBC, noted: "It's hard to say it's a slow pool but it's not fast. When we talk about fast pools it's normally 3m deep and they couldn't make it 3m. They made it 2.2m.

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"People will probably go, 'Well, it's just water.' But the depth of the water means it's faster. When you swim across the surface of the water you create waves. They go down to the bottom and come back up and hit you and slow you down slightly. The more water there is the less disturbance there is in the water. So therefore it stays a little bit smoother," reports the Mirror .

Peaty was beaten by just 0.02 by Italian Nicolo Martinenghi with a time of 59.03 - over two seconds slower than his personal best. The 29-year-old Brit tested positive for Covid-19 on Monday morning, having felt unwell in the hours before Sunday evening's final.

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He is still hopeful of competing in the mixed 4x100m medley relay and men's 4x100m medley later this week. British Olympic Association bosses have moved to ease fears of the virus spreading, insisting that no other athletes have been affected.

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They will continue to keep an eye on the entire delegation and are encouraging everyone to regularly use hand sanitiser, but the wearing of masks remains optional for both athletes and staff.

The BOA said: "Adam Peaty began feeling unwell on Sunday, ahead of his men's 100m breaststroke final. In the hours after the final, his symptoms became worse and he was tested for COVID-19 early on Monday morning. He tested positive at that point."

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