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Is a 'slow' swimming pool impeding world records?

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Re: Is a 'slow' swimming pool impeding world records?

#211

Post by eru »

anigbrowl wrote: post #200
DiggyJohnson wrote: post #194

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> should Why do you believe this should be the case? Keep in mind the majority opinion of most forms of racing and other competitions is to reward competitors for their qualifying or heat performances by assigning the most valuable starting positions to the top qualifiers. This is generally considered more fair than randomizing the final’s lane assignment (or grid order, etc) because it reduces the chance of BS in th…

I get it with motor racing like F1 because of the linear nature of the track, plus during the qualification laps they have a clear track and are not jockeying for position. My reservation with swimming is that if you were randomly assigned to a middle or side lane in the qualification stages, your advantage or disadvantage is compounded as the competition proceeds. It's not clear to me how lane assignments are conduc…

The system isn't there to be fair, it's there to be entertaining.

If you wanted a fair system, there would be no qualifiers and no simultaneous racing. You would just have everyone compete at home and mail in times whenever they have a new record. Like eg speedrunning for computer games is done today, or like any world records for fastest time are done.

Re: Is a 'slow' swimming pool impeding world records?

#212

Post by OJFord »

sandworm101 wrote: post #125
Scoundreller wrote: post #103

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Dumb question I never thought about: do the circulation/filtration pumps get turned off during races? And for what minimum time before hand to let things settle? If so, I guess this would be a serious competition only thing because you wouldn’t want them off for hours.

They do, but circulation cannot be totally stopped. This is a greater problem in outdoor pools but any pool will have some sort of temperature gradient that will inevitably result in circulation. Any water movement means slower times, at least in those events longer than 50m (1 length).

Surely that has far less effect than that of all the other swimmers? Naïvely I would think we should be running time trials of a single swimmer at a time before caring about any of this?

Re: Is a 'slow' swimming pool impeding world records?

#213

Post by Flop7331 »

khuey wrote: post #132
MichaelBurjack wrote: post #126

In addition to physical issues raised (7ft depth, configuration of sides), I wonder if there might be any other reasons that aren't mentioned at all in the article… Something causing these elite athletes to be a bit off their game? Whatever could it possibly be… - https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/olympics/2024/07/31/us... - https://www.walesonline.co.uk/news/uk-news/team-gb-swimmer-m... - https://www.theguardian…

That's not a very satisfying explanation because everyone seems to be slow and it's pretty unlikely that everyone has COVID.

The Olympic Villages are notorious for being germfests.

Re: Is a 'slow' swimming pool impeding world records?

#214

Post by bluGill »

Gud wrote: post #75
teddyh wrote: post #67

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Gold is an excellent conductor Actually, gold is a worse conductor than both copper and silver, and only a little better than aluminum. > and does not corrode in air This is the real reason for plating contacts in gold. But gold wires would be a bad idea, since they would be worse than both copper and silver wires.

Parent didn’t say gold was a better conductor than silver or copper though. How does gold compare to copper- or silver oxide? Which was the point parent was making.

Parent did say gold was a good conductor which is arguable false.

Re: Is a 'slow' swimming pool impeding world records?

#215

Post by ssl-3 »

teddyh wrote: post #67
dsr_ wrote: post #53

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's strange that you would pick on gold connectors. Gold is an excellent conductor and does not corrode in air, so it makes a great plating material. In the quantities needed for plating, it's not too expensive, either. Silver corrodes relatively quickly and is expensive; that's a bad tradeoff against copper, which is much cheaper and nearly as conductive. So: gold-plated connectors on copper wires are extremely com…

> Gold is an excellent conductor Actually, gold is a worse conductor than both copper and silver, and only a little better than aluminum. > and does not corrode in air This is the real reason for plating contacts in gold. But gold wires would be a bad idea, since they would be worse than both copper and silver wires.

Aluminum is also an excellent conductor.

Re: Is a 'slow' swimming pool impeding world records?

#218

Post by Loughla »

Paddywack wrote: post #206

Years ago Johannesburg put in an Olympic bid. Because of the high altitude (1753m) they had issues affecting a number of disciplines when it came to records due to the thinner air... If I recall correctly: - Javeline would go further (less air resistance) - High cardio events would go slower (less oxygen for athletes) That would have been a "slow pool" factor all things being equal!

That's actually super cool. I ran cross country through high school and one year of college. I was fast. Very, very fast in Ohio.

We traveled to Colorado for an invitational.

I was so slow and so tired. 18 year old me didn't realize that air changes. Idiot.

I also realized that if those guys ever came to the Midwest, they would absolutely dominate.

Re: Is a 'slow' swimming pool impeding world records?

#219

Post by Loughla »

jgalt212 wrote: post #216

In perhaps the most Slate article ever, they attempt to blame the lack for record breaking Paris on (wait for it), Climate Change. https://slate.com/technology/2024/07/paris-olympics-2024-bre...

I mean, if it's hotter, that will impact performance. Not for swimming necessarily, but track will suffer.
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