Preferred lanes in Olympic swimming?

Question

Why are the fastest qualifiers in swimming always located in the middle lanes? Is it by choice or is it a rule? And why?

Answer 1

that is just how it has been for ever. in the middle lanes the water moves away from the lane and into other lanes till it hits the wall and goes back to the outside lanes. so if you swam the fastest you should get the most oppertunity to make your time even faster.

i don't think it makes that much of a diffrenct though.

hope i answed your question =]

Answer 2

it goes 1st fastest lane 4

2nd 5

3rd 3

4th 6

5th 2

6th 7

7th 1

8th 8

this is to make a spear headed effect to stop wake from other swimmers from choking

Answer 3

It's how the semi's and the finals are seeded. Fastest in the two yellow lanes, then the slower in the blue lanes, and then slowest in the green lanes.

Im not sure how it got like that, i think it was a rule by FINA to do it like that, it could be with the small currents people make when they swim that it could affect the other person by them, but it makes it look neater.....

every swimming meet is like that, including state team meets, zone meets, etc.  

Answer 4

This is the way all finals are seeded. The fastest qualifier is in lane 4 the next fastest is in lane 5 etc. The slowest is in lane 8.

It is the FINA rules so they have to do it for every race.