Early Days Of Olympic Swimming
Today, we are used to our swimming events being held in magnificent 50-metre pools. But the first Olympic competitions were held in the open sea (1896) Athens; the River Seine (1900) Paris; and in an artificial lake (1904) St. Louis. The first time a pool was used was when a 100 metre-long pool was constructed inside the track at White City Stadium for the London Games of 1908. The first 50-metre pool came in 1924 at the 8th Olympic Games which were held in Paris.