LONDON, July 27 (Reuters) - Finding a metre of space is often a rarity when swimming in London’s crowded public pools so one can imagine the pleasure of not only having an entire lane to myself on Wednesday but a lane of the previously untouched London 2012 Olympic pool.
On the occasion of the official opening of the 269 million pounds Aquatic Centre a handful of journalists were given the honour of testing the waters for themselves.
With hot medal hope and teenage heart-throb Tom Daley due to make the inaugural dive from the 10 metre platform later in the day, pictures of the rag-tag collection of media men and women were unlikely to be competing for front-page space.
Yet for those of us who took the plunge, it was an experience to remember. Swimming in a 50-metre pool is luxury enough but to do so in the shadow of 17,500 seats in two towering stands ensures the imagination runs wild.
Through crystal-clear water and beautifully lit, the “black line” appears almost close enough to touch and you feel you owe it to the pool to get streamlined, perfect that catch and generate some power from your kick.
Gliding in to touch the backboard, even the most ragged of us could surely be forgiven for momentarily imagining they were taking gold a fingertip ahead of a Michael Phelps.
Turning to sling an elbow nonchalantly over the lane divider and look back at the yet-to-be installed scoreboard while receiving a congratulatory handshake from the gallant silver-medallist, all the names come flooding back.
Mark Spitz, Shane Gould, David Wilkie, Kornelia Ender, Michael Gross, Kieren Perkins, Ian Thorpe and of course the incredible Phelps. They are the swimmers who have framed 40 years of personal Olympic memories, from the black and white TV pictures of Munich ’72 to seeing the greats of the modern era live from the stands on reporting duty for Reuters.
Next July a new generation will fly off the blocks and the Aquatics Centre, the sixth and final major Olympic Park venue to be completed, was opened on the day that marked one year to go.
“I have seen so many venues in my life that I had a visual shock when I came in,” said International Olympic Committee (IOC) president Jacques Rogge. “I came in from the top and everything stands out; the harmony, the quality, the innovation. It’s a masterpiece.”
London mayor Boris Johnson described it as “just mind-blowing.”
“I had no idea it was going to be so beautiful. It is an architectural poem, a seamless wave of beauty,” he said. “And look at that water. It looks good enough to drink, it is gin-clear. If you dive to the bottom you won’t find any fluff and the normal sort of stuff you find in a municipal pool - an old pair of goggles and a Band Aid.
“I have been asked to have a go in it myself, I think it would be electorally inadvisable. I think this is not the moment in the electoral cycle to present my undraped form to the people of London, until I lose a lot of weight.”
The pool complex too is due for some major slimming after the Games, as the two giant “wings” that accommodate 15,000 fans will be removed to leave a permanent capacity of 2,500.
London 2012 chairman Sebastian Coe also declined the invitation to lose his suit and dive in, insisting: “I would but I can’t swim.”
He too, however, was clearly impressed. “Everyone involved can be very proud of this venue,” Coe said. “After the Games it will become a much-needed swimming facility for London with community use at its heart.”
It sounds great, so long as they remember to keep scooping out the fluff and used plasters.
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