Among the venues that have lasted from the 1996 Atlanta Olympics is the swimming pool at Georgia Tech. And after 25 years, it remains state of the art. That’s because of its technology that still provides a competitive edge for those who swim there.
When most people watch Olympic swimmers, they mainly focus on the athletes. Georgia Tech Professor Jud Ready and his students, however, look at how the pool is designed.
“The course that I teach material science and engineering of sports,” Ready said. “So we cover helmets and shoes and the playing surfaces.”
One case study of how engineering and sports come together is the McAuley Aquatic Center at Georgia Tech — originally built for the 1996 Olympic games.
There’s a variety of different ways that you can make a pool fast and they all have to do with keeping the wake from the opposing competitor from influencing you.”