In swimming: why some lanes are considered to be better than others?

Question

Are the middle lanes better? Why?

Thanks :)

Answer 1

yes

because the fitered water doesnt shooot at the side of ur body

Answer 2

lanes considered like pyramid in the middle is the best and last lanes will be the worst    

Answer 3

They "seed" the lanes from fastest to slowest...

lane 4-fastest

lane 5-2nd fastest

lane 3-third fastest

lane 6-4th fastest

lane 2-5th fastest

lane 7-6th fastest

lane 1-7th fastest

lane 8-slowest in heat.

Answer 4

they seed the swimmers that way

so the swimmer with the fastest time goes in lane 4,

2nd fastest time goes in lane 5,

3rd fastest time goes in lane 3,

4th fastest time goes in lane 6

5th fastest time goes in lane 2

6th fastest time goes in lane 7

7th fastest time goes in lane 1

8th fastest time goes in lane 8

i hope this helps

Answer 5

the middle lanes are better because you dont have to fight again the the water spread(splashed water + the mini waves) so its a easier swim the the outside lane and it use less energy in the middle cause your not fighting against anything

Answer 6

yes the middle lanes are better. the end lanes are considered the worst because the waves from all the other waves travel into them. also in a swimming heat the fastest swimmers are in the middle and it travels out where the slowest in that heat are in the end lanes.

Answer 7

A couple or reasons, one of which probably isn't valid at the most modern pools.

#1 - It's not just swimming, track and field puts the top qualifiers in the middle lanes, as well.  From there, it's easiest to "keep an eye" on the entire field.  If I'm in Lane 1, and the guy in Lane 8 decides to go for broke, I might just cruise to my finish, never realizing this person has passed me up.

#2 - In older, smaller and less technically impressive pools, you have the wall right next to the end lane.  If the lanes are narrow, then you have to worry about striking your hand if your wingspan is wide on the butterfly, or if you happen to drift towards that side of the lane.  If the end lane is right up against the wall, then the waves you crate as the swimmer there, as well as any waves coming from other lanes, through yours bounce back carrying a lot more of their energy and power than if there was an empty lane there, or if the end of the pool had some kind of flow-through setup, creating a lot more turbulence.

Answer 8

In smaller events like high school and swim club meets the middle lanes are better for the reasons stated above, however due to the advance architecture of zero wave pools and technology implemented in the lane line now a days at the Olympic level there is no true advantage anymore, (look at Australia who won the womens 4 X 200m relay from lane 7, Olympics are filled with lower lane qualifiers and winners).  The advancements made to help lower waves during swimming are a huge reason why you're also seeing so many world records fall every four years (every host city wants the best and newest facilities when they host the Olympics), so while it can be true for lower level swim meets, it's no longer the case for the Olympics.

Answer 9

As one of your posters mentioned athletes are 'circle seeded' in swim meets. This means the fastest seeded swimmer is in the last heat and middle lane (lane 4 in an 8 lane pool). The second fastest swimmer is in the second to the last heat and middle lane. The third fastest swimmer is in the the third to the last heat and middle lane. The last three heats are the only 'seeded heats' so the 4th fastest swimmer will swim the preliminaries in the last heat in the second to the middle lane (lane 5 in an 8 lane pool).

As another one of your posters mentioned it's advantageous to be in the middle because the middle lane is closest to ALL of the competitors plus the focus is in the middle of the pool (the highest seeds).

However, what hasn't been mentioned is that the outside lanes have the disadvantage of the 'backwash' created by the waves of the swimmers hitting the wall and reverberating back creating more waves and less of a smooth surface to swim in.

This has been minimized through technological advances such as deeper pools, flow over gutters on the deck, new designs in lane separators, and multiple lane separators between the outside lane and the wall.

So in today's races it's attractive to be in the center lanes mainly to keep an eye on the competition as technology has taken care of 'most' of the other problems earlier competitors had to deal with.

I hope this helps.

Answer 10

It is mainly to show the fastest swimmers in the middle of the field. The outside lanes do have a little bit of backwash off the sides but it is of no real importance. It just looks better on TV with the winners in the middle, but it doesn't always work out that way.

Answer 11

The faster your time the further towards the middle of the pool you will be placed. So the fastest person will be in lane 4. This is because when everyone swims it creates waves and the waves get pushed on the walls of the pool and will bounce off and hit the people in the end lanes, which slows you down. So that is why middle lanes are better.