This is a list of notable swimming pools, especially full long course 50 by 25 metres (164 ft × 82 ft) ones suited for Olympic competitions (with 10 lanes, just 8 used, and 2m or more deep). This also includes current and past pools with historical or architectural importance. It is not intended to include hot springs pools except where actual swimming, as opposed to bathing or wading, is possible.
World Aquatics (Previously FINA) sets standards for swimming pools used in international competitions.[1] Its requirements are not met by many "Olympic-sized" pools; for example of the 15 or more Olympic-sized pools in the Philippines, only the one at New Clark City Aquatics Center is FINA-certified. FINA's requirement that a pool must be 2 meters deep (with 3 meters recommended) is met by some pools elsewhere being adjustable in depth at their shallow ends, such for the competition pool in Tromsø, Norway.
Specialization of Kenya, other East African countries in track, of Cuba in boxing, has been attributed by some to their lack of investment in pools and other athletic facilities.[2] There have been numerous calls within countries for Olympic level facilities, e.g. Kenya below, even in developed nations such as Canada, where the capital region around Ottawa is deemed to be under-served. Just as it is hard for a tropical nation to develop what's needed to be competitive in bobsled, so is it difficult for many nations to afford the upfront and high continuing costs of Olympic pools, given other needs.
In recent years, there has been possibility for some third world countries to obtain needed investment through China's Belt and Road program.
"Chinese construction companies also helped the Government of Kenya build a US$52 million sports stadium with a seating capacity of 60,000 people, an Olympic-size swimming pool, and a modern gymnasium to host the fourth All-Africa games ..."[3] Plan for initiative to build an Olympic stadium in Kuwait.[4][5]
No instances of Western nations constructing aquatic centers in Third World countries come to mind. In some cases, competition-level facilities were built for an Olympics or other international competition, only to fall quickly into disrepair. That appears to have happened in Kenya and more recently in Rio de Janeiro. For the latter, however, plans were in place to repurpose some of its pools to other locations, and more repurposing ended up being done given deteriorating conditions of arenas.
Brisbane Aquatic Center, in Sleeman Centre, Brisbane, was built for the 1982 Commonwealth Games. It has a 50 m indoor Olympic pool (2m depth), a 50 m outdoor Olympic pool (4m to 2m in depth), a 25 m lap pool, and a 25-metre diving pool with .5, 1, 3, 5, 7, and 10 m diving boards and platforms.
North Sydney Olympic Pool (1936), North Sydney, designed in Inter-War Free Classical style with art deco-style decorations, hosted the swimming and diving events for the 1938 Empire Games. A 25 m indoor pool was added in 2001. Closed in 2021-22 for replacement of pool.
Wezenberg Olympic Swimming Center, Antwerp, built in 1973 with a 50-meter pool and an 20 by 17 metres (66 ft × 56 ft) instruction pool. A second 50-meter pool, too narrow for competitions, was completed in 2015.
Nemo 33, Brussels, 34.5 metres (113 ft) deep, the deepest indoor swimming pool from 2004 to 2014.[6][7][8] In 2022, Nemo 33 is the fifth deepest swimming pool in the world
Manaus "The water polo pool (14x25x3 meters), which sat just outside of the permanent Maria Lenk Aquatic Center, was moved to Manaus and expanded into a 50 meter pool,"[9] "the water polo pool at the Maria Lenk Aquatics Centre will be turned into a 50m pool in the Amazonian city of Manaus."[10] The Water Polo pool (14x25x3 meters), installed during the Games just outside the Maria Lenk Aquatic Centre was to be moved to Manaus, where it would become a 50-meter pool.[11]
Swimming Olympic Centre of Bahia, Salvador de Bahia, moved in April 2017 from the grounds of the 2016 Rio Olympics in Rio de Janeiro[11] Swimming Olympic Centre of Bahia, also referred to as Aquatics Sports Centre of SUDESB. The facility will eventually include two pools – the main competition pool and" [9] "This particular pool is one of two matching 50m x 25m x 2m deep pools from the Parque dos Atletas – the training ground for many Olympic athletes prior to competition. Its twin is destined for a military base in Guarantigueta, near São Paulo, and will be used for military training and competitions."[9]
Canada
50 m pools in Canada, from west to east, include:
British Columbia:
Vancouver Aquatic Centre, West End, Vancouver, a City of Vancouver facility, has a 50 m pool, and has 1m and 3m diving boards and a diving tower with 5 m, 7.5 m, and 10 m height platforms.[12]
Donald D. Summerville Olympic Pool, at Woodbine Beach, Toronto and East York, has an elevated 50 m Olympic size pool overlooking Lake Ontario, a 25 m training pool and a separate diving pool with 5 and 10 metre diving platforms.[14] It was completed in 1963.[15]
Etobicoke Olympium in Etobicoke, has an 8 lane, 50 meter pool, and a 25-meter training pool. It also has diving towers attached to the competition. The building was built in 1975 and renovated in 2014 or 2015 for the 2015 Pan Am Games.[16][17]
Müller’sche Volksbad (c.1900), Munich, an Art Nouveau building with 30-meter pool (former men's pool) and 18-meter pool (former women's pool).
Greece
Olympic-sized pool of the Athens Olympic Aquatic Centre (c.1991, expanded c.2004), Athens Olympic Sports Complex, used in the 2004 Summer Olympics. There were complaints at the Olympics that the competition pool, outdoors, was too exposed to the hot sun; since then a roof has apparently enclosed the pool stadium.
Mahatma Gandhi Swimming Pool, Dadar West, Mumbai, has an Olympic-sized 50 by 25 metres (164 ft × 82 ft) outdoor pool with 10 lanes, and a 25 by 21 metres (82 ft × 69 ft) diving pool with 1m and 3m boards, 5m, 7.5m and 10m platforms.[27][28]
Tatsumi International Swimming Center, Tokyo[33] Tatsumi International Swimming Center: "Housing two Olympic-sized pools and a diving pool, this futuristic-looking facility often hosts international swimming competitions."[34]
Oasen, a public swimming pool built inside a rock cavern in Namsos
Indoor 50-by-25-metre (164 ft × 82 ft) pool at Tøyenbadet, Tøyen, Oslo. In 2022, Tøyenbadet was being entirely rebuilt, to reopen in 2023.[47]
A 50-metre (160 ft) pool at Tromsøbadet, Tromsø, Norway's northernmost competition pool. The pool meets the requirements for national and international competitions. At the shallow end of the pool the depth can be adjusted from 0–2 metres (0.0–6.6 ft).[48]
Other pools include:
Two 50-metre (160 ft) pools, one with 8 lanes, at Frognerbadet (1956), Frogner, Oslo
A 25-by-12.5-metre (82 ft × 41 ft) meter pool at Østfoldbadet, Askim
Pakistan
"Unfortunately, in Pakistan there is actually a lack of swimming pools and facilities. There is only one swimming pool in the entire country of international quality, ... At the age of thirteen, she became Pakistan's first female Olympic swimmer at the 2004 Summer Olympic games."[49]
There were 15 Olympic-sized (50 by 15 metres (164 ft × 49 ft)) pools and more being built, as of 2019, in the Philippines, and about 20 other 50-meter pools.
Deepspot, Mszczonów, Poland, the world's third? deepest swimming pool, 45 metres (148 ft), below Y-40 The Deep Joy pool in Italy, which is 131 feet[57]
Olympic Pool, Moscow, Luzhniki Sports Complex Moscow. Opened in 1957, it was renovated in 1980 to host water polo events at the 1980 Summer Olympics. It has been demolished and may be reconstructed as a Multipurpose Aquatic Centre.
Jamsil Indoor Swimming Pool (1980), in Seoul Olympic Park, which hosted the 1988 Summer Olympics. It has an outdoor 50m x 25m, 10-lanes pool, an indoor 50m x 12.5m 5-lane pool, and an indoor 25m x 25m diving pool with 1m and 3m diving boards and 1m, 3m, 5m, 7.5m and 10m diving platforms.[59][60]
K-26, a pool with depth 26 metres (85 ft), the deepest swimming pool of its kind in Asia (vs. Taiwan's Divecube with depth 21 metres (69 ft)).[61]
Divecube, in Taichung, a 21 metres (69 ft) deep pool asserted to be deepest swimming pool of its kind in Asia,[62] since submarined by K-26 in South Korea.
Turkey
Two 10-lane Olympic pools and a 5-lane 50-meter pool, Atatürk Swimming Complex, Adana, in facility opened in 1936 and re-constructed in 2009
White City Stadium, London. Its outdoor pool, in the infield of the stadium, was the first swimming pool used in any Olympics, hosted swimming events of the 1908 Summer Olympics. It was demolished in 1985.
Royal Commonwealth Pool, a category-A-listed building in St. Leonard's, Edinburgh. Built as part of seeking (and winning) 1970 British Commonwealth Games for Edinburgh. Hosted 1986 Commonwealth Games, 2014 Commonwealth Games and the inaugural 2018 European Championships The building's Modernist architecture is highly regarded: it was selected as one of 60 key Scottish monuments of the post-war period and nominated in 2002 by the Architecture Heritage Society of Scotland as one of the most significant modern contributions to Scottish heritage. S&P Architects, the architects and lead consultants for its 2012 refurbishment, were awarded the Scottish Design Award in 2012 for the best reuse of a listed building.
Mona Plummer Aquatic Center (1981), Arizona State University, Tempe. It includes an Olympic-size competition pool, another swimming pool, and a diving pool. Has been claimed to be "one of the best collegiate aquatic centers in the nation."
Dirks Pool at Spieker Aquatics Center, of UCLA, a 52-meter, all deep water pool with a diving platform as well as one-meter and three-meter diving boards
^"China's Belt and Road Initiative is probably ‘the riskiest environmental venture in history’, researcher warns" June 13, 2018. Article possibly available here.
^"History". Nemo 33. Archived from the original on 21 June 2018. Retrieved 26 February 2015.
