February 5, 2025

Freddy Buncay

12th Grade

St. Francis Preparatory School

You probably have been mistaken in believing that the athlete is the sole reason for their speed in the swimming pool. However, the speed of the swimmer is also dictated by the structural engineering and materials used by the swimming pool. Being one of the fastest pools that have hosted many important swimming events, Georgia’s Tech McAuley Aquatic Center is a perfect example to analyze the engineering behind Olympic “fast” swimming pools. 

Professor Jud Ready states that Georgia’s Tech McAuley Aquatic Center remains one of the fastest pools for three reasons, two are at the bottom while the other is at the sides. The first reason is the depth of the pool; Georgia Tech’s pool is about 9.8 feet, or three meters, deep. This depth allows for the compression waves to rebound when the swimmers dive in and hit the bottom of the pool, positively affecting their speed. On the other hand, if the pool is too shallow, the reflected waves will be able to reach the surface, negatively affecting their speed. The wave energy will bounce off the bottom and reach the competition. 

A regular hotel or home pool has return jets on the side walls. This leads us to the second reason for Georgia Tech’s pool speed. The pool’s return jets are built into the bottom of the lanes. Having the return jets at the bottom allows for the water to spread along the bottom with the help of rosettes. If the pool copied the structure of regular pools, there would be extreme currents that could either help or hinder the swimmers because the side jets would allow for millions of gallons of water to be recirculated back to the pool. 

The gutter system is the third reason for why Georgia Tech’s pool was built to be fast. The oversized gutters capture the water produced by the swimmers when they create waves. This allows for a fair race because the energy isn’t bounced back to the swimmers, which slows them down. All of this extra friction has to be taken into account because it can be the reason for why an athlete either wins or loses. At the start of the race, all the swimmers hit the surface at the same time, which causes the pool to overflow. For this reason, the gutter system must be wide and deep. The oversized dimensions allow the pool to handle the overflow. If the gutter system was narrow and shallow, the surface would be choppy because the water would bounce back into the pool. This would negatively affect the athletes because the water provides resistance against the swimmers. 

Georgia Tech’s pool has additional factors for its successful speed; the air system removes chloramines, allows for fresh air, and makes sure the pool is odor-free. The air is streamed down in a streamlined flow from the rafters toward large fans which are on the opposite side of the pool. When the athletes are swimming, they produce heat. So, Georgia Tech’s pool water is kept cold because this allows for better results from the athletes.