How are the lanes assigned for swimming at the Olympics?

Answer 1

Lane assignments Swimmers and relay teams are seeded according to times from the previous round so that the fastest swimmers/teams are in the central lanes of the pool, and the slowest are in the outer ones: Lane 4: fastest swimmer or relay team Lane 5: second-fastest Lane 3: third-fastest Lane 6: fourth-fastest Lane 2: fifth-fastest Lane 7: sixth-fastest Lane 1: seventh-fastest Lane 8: eighth-fastest Being in the middle of the pool is advantageous because waves reverberating off the side walls can slow a swimmer. Also, swimmers in the middle lanes are better able to monitor other competitors. Source(s): http://www.nbcolympics.com/swimming/insidethissport/format/newsid=101927.html#competition+format

Answer 2

In a typical 8-lane pool (for the Olympics or any other competition), the seeding is as follows:

lane 1 - 7th

lane 2 - 5th

lane 3 - 3rd

lane 4 - 1st-place seed (fastest)

lane 5 - 2nd

lane 6 - 4th

lane 7 - 6th

lane 8 - 8th (slowest)

If two people tie for place 1st through 7th, the seeding for those two swimmers is determined by lottery. If two people tie for 8th for a finals heat, a swim-off is held to determine who makes the final.

Answer 3

Usually the fastest swimmer is assigned to the center lane with the lower number. The second fastest is put in the other middle lane. The third goes in the open lane next to the fastest, the fourth goes in the open lane next to the second fastest, and so one until all the lanes are full. For a 6 lane pool, the order of speed would go 3,4,2,5,1,6. In a 10 lane pool, it would be 5,6,4,7,3,8,2,9,1,10

Answer 4

The center lanes are assigned to the fastest swimmers.