France deliberately may have slowed Olympic swimming pool down because they still hold a grudge against Michael Phelps – Exploring the wild conspiracy theory
Olympic Pool controversy - Fans further speculations after two crazy days of the sport sees no records being tumbled.
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Olympics swimming pool and Michael Phelps (via X/IMAGO)
As the Paris Olympics is already in full swing, on Sunday, the men’s 100-metre breaststroke final saw eight world-class swimmers and the timing recorded for all eight of them were slower than the ones that were chronicled in Tokyo three years earlier.
In what was deemed as the ‘Race of the Century’ a night ago in the women’s 400-metre freestyle, three of the most elite superstars who hold world records, fell staggeringly short of their personal bests while Katie Ledecky couldn’t even breach four minutes. After a couple of roller-coaster days in the Paris La Defense Arena, with no world records toppled, fans have invested themselves entirely in a controversial question, alleging the fact that the swimming pool is rigged to deny the USA a shy at their signature glory.
Ken Ono who is a data specialist opened up to Yahoo Sports, pointing out that this wild conspiracy may be very real and has a decent base to look into. He has questioned the fact that if the depth of the pools had been what it should be, then maybe the result would have been different.
The pool is fast compared to your neighborhood swim club. However, it is not ideal for record setting. The shallow depth is a primary reason. I have heard from a few competitors that they have been forced to (slightly) modify their dives off the blocks. Could we have seen a sub-4 minute 400 IM by Marchand, or a sub-55s 100 fly by Huske and Walsh? Honestly, perhaps we would have in other pools.Ken Ono told Yahoo Sports via email
For the unversed, the reason for the fans to believe that this is an inside job is the 2008 Beijing Games where Michael Phelps spearheaded Team USA to a rampant victory at the expense of France who came second as they were adrift by 0.08 seconds in the final hurdle of glory. With France being the hosts, fans are fanning the flames for this controversy and will be investigating deeper into how the depth of the pools can play an important part in deciding the fate of the contest.
A glance at how Nicolo Martinenghi upstaged Adam Peaty in the 100m breaststroke final in France
Out of all the controversy pile, Sunday saw a major upset that left Adam Peaty registering the silver medal in the 100m breaststroke while Nicolo Martinenghi led Italy to a golden finish, raining on Peaty’s parade. Later in a statement made by the British Olympic Association, it was confirmed that Peaty had tested positive for COVID-19, hours after the heartbreak.
The Italian fired home in the seventh lane by a bare minimum margin of 59.03 seconds, two ahead of Peaty’s 59.05 to clinch the gold. American Nic Fink clocked the same time as the British swimmer to come joint second.
However, Chinese world champion Qin Haiyang led at the turn but faded away to oblivion when the finishing line came calling.
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Rohit Ganguly
(515 Articles Published)