With the Olympics underway in France, the swimming pool is filled to the brim with pee. Well, kind of.
It is not a secret that athletes often urinate while in the water but apparently it’s even more common than you might think and United States star Lilly King takes it to the next level!
La Défense Arena in Paris is the host of this year’s competition. There is some controversy surrounding the depth of the pool and whether it is making race times even slower than they would be if it was about 0.5 meters deeper. However, the bigger concern is that the shallow water will overflow over the sides when overwhelmed by pee. Not really… but also maybe?
Several Olympians from Team USA recently spoke with the Wall Street Journal about the dirty (not-so secret) habit of professional swimming. Everybody tinkles in the pool. It’s commonplace!
There are multiple reasons for the pool peeing. The first is convenience.
This year’s suits were engineered from Lamoral Space Tech, a coating technology that was originally used to protect satellites, and developed Speedo’s Aqualab research and development facility. They are skin tight and take some swimmers up to 20 minutes to get on properly. Taking them off to use the loo would be a major inconvenience that simply isn’t possible before a race. Certainly not at the Olympics.
That is especially true with how often the athletes have to go!
“I always have to pee because I’m so hydrated.”
— Jack Mitchell, via WSJ
Some athletes even let it rip before they hop in the water. Katie Hoff revealed that she “literally saw [urine] roll down her leg and hit the floor” while sitting next to another American swimmer in the past.
People who don’t know the sport might look down upon the practice, but the swimmers don’t.
“It sounds so gross to outsiders, but because there is so much chlorine you don’t even think about it.”
— Katie Hoff, via WSJ
Two-time gold medalist Lilly King takes it even one step further. Not only does she pee in the pool, she does so while competing!
“[I pee in] every single pool I’ve swam in. That’s just how it goes. I can actually pee as I’m swimming.”
— Lilly King, via WSJ
Although King is able to multitask, there are some strict unspoken rules to pool peeing. It is highly frowned upon when other swimmers are nearby.
“You never want to swim through a warm patch… you’re crop dusting everyone. That’s foul!”
— Cullen Jones, via WSJ
Swimming events at the Olympics will continue through August 4. Unfortunately, if you made it all of the way through this article, all you will be able to think about is the amount of pee in the pool!