Sports Technology

On display during the aquatic competition at the recent Olympics and Paralympics, Myrtha Pools involvement at Rio 2016 saw it design and install 17 pools for  aquatic competition, training and post-race recovery .

After Atlanta 1996, Beijing 2008 and London 2012, and with a long tradition of involvement in elite swimming competition, at the Games’ key aquatic venue, the all new Estádio Olímpico de Esportes Aquáticos within the Barra Olympic Park, Myrtha installed two 50 x 25 metre swimming pools – one for competition, the other for training – each with a total capacity of 3.7 million litres of water.

Hosting all swimming competitions and warming-ups and the water polo finals, these new pools were built using Myrtha’s modular stainless steel panel system that ensures ease of construction and longevity.

The main competition pool included Myrtha’s removable headwalls, which allow the water overflow on all four sides and at the same time provide an ideal support for the timing electronic touch pads, starting blocks and floating lane line anchors.

The removable headwalls also meet world aquatics governing body FINA’s regulations that require competition pools with overflow on all four sides to have headwalls 30 cm higher than the water level, at the start and turning ends of the pool.

The competition pool also featured Myrtha’s new Track-Start starting block and Myrtha’s Backstroke System a new prototype footrest designed to facilitate the backstroke swimmers’ start during competitions that provides a stable support on the wall and allows a faster and safer start without risk of slipping, while at the same time enhancing performance and timing.

The new system is adjustable depending on the needs of the swimmer and is easily removed from the block immediately after each start to avoid obstructing the dynamics of turns during the race.

The Track-Start System, developed and patented by Anti Wave International, was first used at competition in Beijing 2008 Olympics and now it is used by all ages swimmers around the world.

Myrtha technology was not used at Rio's Maria Lenk Aquatic Centre which had highly publicised filtration issues during the Olympics. 

Myrtha installations for the Rio Olympics and Paralmpics was the subject of a feature in the July/August 2016 issue of Australasian Leisure Management.

To contact Myrtha Pools' Australian and New Zealand representative, click here to visit the Myrtha Pools listing in the Australasian Leisure Management Supplier Directory. 

15th August 2016 - RIO 2016 ORGANISERS ADMIT TO USING WRONG POOL CHEMICALS AT MARIA LENK AQUATIC CENTRE

17th March 2016 - MYRTHA POOLS’ COMPONENTS USED IN ARTISTIC INSTALLATIONS

17th February 2015 - MYRTHA MOVABLE BULKHEADS ALLOW MULTIPLE POOL ACTIVITIES

30th January 2015 - MYRTHA POOLS LAUNCHES NEW PRESENCE ONLINE