The Math Behind Olympic Swimming: 

A Day-by-Day Guide for the 2024 Games

The 2024 Olympic Games are an exciting opportunity for families to come together and enjoy world-class athletic performances. Beyond the thrill of the competition, these events provide a unique opportunity to engage children in learning math in a fun and practical way. This blog post will help parents guide their children through the math involved in Olympic swimming events, enhancing their viewing experience and making learning more engaging. 

When children realize that math knowledge can positively influence their performance in activities they love, it can help motivate them to dedicate themselves to the subject. Watching the Olympics often leads viewers to dream of their own excellence in athletic pursuits. Discussing the physical dedication is only a fraction of the athletes’ hard work. Mental toughness and agility are also involved, and math plays a part in this mental preparation.

The Hard Work Behind the Scenes

Becoming an Olympic swimmer requires physical endurance, skill, and an understanding of math to optimize training and performance. 

In her book Just Add Water, Katie Ledecky has many examples of the math involved in her training that is now taking her to her fourth Olympic Games. One example is the estimated distance she was swimming in one year as a teenager.  “I was now logging around 40 miles a week in the pool. Multiply that by the number of practices a week, and you get 2700 laps a week, 135,000 a year, or around 1920 miles annually.” (p 29)

Here are some of the ways swimmers use math in their training:

1. Reading a Pace Clock: Swimmers use pace clocks to time their intervals and rest periods. Knowing how to read and interpret the clock is crucial for maintaining a consistent training pace.

2. Determining Heart Rate Zones: Swimmers monitor their heart rates to ensure they are training in the correct zones that support their training goals. Calculating these zones involves understanding their maximum heart rate percentages that will keep them within the specified zone.

3. Calculating Distances and Lengths: Swimmers need to calculate the number of lengths required to cover various distances. For example, in a 50m pool, a 200m swim requires four lengths.

4. Stroke Counts: Swimmers count their strokes to maintain efficiency and speed. By knowing their stroke count per length, they can ensure they are swimming efficiently and adjust their technique as needed.

5. Pacing: Maintaining a consistent pace is essential for endurance events. Swimmers calculate their pace per 50m or 100m to sustain their speed throughout the race.

6. Breath Counts: Managing breath counts is crucial, especially in sprint events. Swimmers calculate the optimal number of breaths per length to maximize their oxygen intake while minimizing the drag from excessive breath-taking.

Olympic Swimming Finals Schedule and Math Activities

Here's a day-by-day breakdown of the 2024 Olympics swimming finals and math activities parents can use to engage their children.

Day 1: July 27, 2024

Events: Men's and Women's 400m Freestyle, Men's and Women's 4x100m Freestyle Relay

Math Activity: Calculate the average speed of the swimmers on Team USA in the 400m Freestyle. Determine the pace required for a swimmer of your choice to break the world record in the 400m Freestyle. For the relays, compare the times of each swimmer to find the fastest and slowest splits.

Day 2: July 28, 2024

Events: Men's 400m Individual Medley, Women's 100m Butterfly, Men’s 100m Breaststroke 

Math Activity: Compare the times of the 100m of each stroke in the 400 Individual Medley. Discuss why different strokes might result in different times for the same distance. Which stroke is fastest/slowest? How far above or below the world record is the winner of the 100m Butterfly? If the 100m Breaststroke winner spends 15 meters underwater on the first lap and 10 meters underwater on the second lap, how far does he have to swim on the surface?

Day 3: July 29, 2024

Events: Women's 400m Individual Medley, Men's and Women's 200m Freestyle, Men’s 100m Backstroke, Women’s 100m Breaststroke

Math Activity: What is the difference in time between the swimmer who wins the Gold Medal and the Silver and/or Bronze Medal in the 400m Individual Medley? If a swimmer takes 40 strokes per length in the 200m free, how many total strokes does that swimmer take in the race?  If that same swimmer kicks six times for each stroke, how many kicks do they take in one length of the pool? Compare how much time a swimmer spends underwater in the 100m Breaststroke versus on the surface.

Day 4: July 30, 2024

Events: Women’s 100m Backstroke, Men's 800m Freestyle, Men's 4 X 200m Freestyle Relay

Math Activity: Compare the reaction times (time it takes to leave the blocks) for the 100m Backstroke. Does the swimmer with the fastest reaction time win the race? For the 800m Freestyle, calculate the average time per 100m. What is the margin of victory for the team that wins the 4 X 200m Freestyle Relay?

Day 5: July 31, 2024

Events: Women's 100m Freestyle, Men's 200m Butterfly, Women’s 1500m Freestyle, Men’s 200m Breaststroke, Men’s 100m Freestyle

Math Activity: Compare the split times (per 50) of the 100m Freestyle to the 1500m Freestyle. Discuss how technique and stroke affect the speed. Discuss how maintaining a consistent pace is crucial for longer distances. Using conversion factors, determine how close 1500m is to a mile. Compare the 200m Butterfly to the 200m Breaststroke. How much faster is the winner of the 200m Butterfly than the 200m Breaststroke? Discuss reasons this might be the case.

Day 6: August 1, 2024

Events: Women's 200m Butterfly, Men's 200m Backstroke, Women’s 200m Breaststroke, Women’s 4 X 200m Freestyle Relay

Math Activity: If the winner of the 200m Butterfly takes 30 strokes on the first lap, 33 on the second lap, 36 on the third lap, and 33 on the 4th lap, what is her average number of strokes per lap? If a swimmer in the 200m Backstroke maximizes the allowable distance underwater for the race, how many meters does he spend underwater?  In the 200m Breaststroke, what is the average time of the 3 swimmers who win medals? In the 4 X 200m Freestyle relay, there are 4 swimmers in each of the eight lanes. Calculate how many dives and flip turns take place in this event.

Day 7: August 2, 2024

Events: Men's 50m Freestyle, Women’s 200m Backstroke, Men's 200m Individual Medley

Math Activity: The 50m Freestyle is all about speed. Compare the 50m times to splits in other freestyle distances to discuss how distance affects pacing. Compare the splits (50s) of one of the swimmers in the 200m Backstroke. What is the difference between her slowest and fastest length? What is the average time (pace) for the event? For the Individual Medley, analyze which stroke had the biggest impact on the final time and compare each stroke's times to see which was the fastest. Put these times in order from fastest to slowest. Discuss any advantages or disadvantages one stroke may have over another. (How early in the race, starting with a dive, underwater dolphin kicking, etc.)

Day 8: August 3, 2024

Events: Men’s 100m Butterfly, Women’s 200m Individual Medley, Women's 800m Freestyle, Mixed 4x100m Medley Relay

Math Activity: See if there seems to be an advantage for swimmers who breathe every stroke versus those who hold their breath more in the 100m Butterfly. For the 800m Freestyle, calculate the split times needed for every 100m to break the world record. For the relay, compare the times of each swimmer's leg to see the team dynamics. For the top 3 teams, was there any similarity to the stroke choices of the men and the women?

Day 9: August 4, 2024

Events: Women’s 50m Freestyle, Men's 1500m Freestyle, Men’s 4 x 100m Freestyle Relay, Women’s 4 x 100 Freestyle Relay

Math Activity: What is the margin of victory for the 50m freestyle? Did the reaction times off the block predict the winner? For the 1500m Freestyle, calculate how many miles the 8 swimmers in the pool swam during this race. How many lengths of the pool were swum altogether by the 8 swimmers? The men’s 4 X 100m Freestyle Relay world record is 3:18.83, and for the women, the world record is 3:29.69 What does each swimmer need to swim to break their event record?

Bonus Activity: Calculate the distance Katie Ledecky raced during the Paris Olympics. Include all preliminary heats, semi-finals, finals, and relays. 

Additional Tips for Parents

Interactive Discussions: To stimulate critical thinking, ask open-ended questions like, "Why do you think butterfly is generally slower than freestyle?"

Relatable Examples: Relate the distances to something familiar, like the length of a swimming pool they know, to make abstract concepts more concrete.

By incorporating these math activities into the viewing experience, parents can turn watching the Olympic swimming events into an educational opportunity. Not only will children learn more about the sport, but they'll also see the practical application of math in real-world scenarios.

Looking for other math activities to enjoy with your children?

Check out my blog: Transform Math Learning: Fun Games for Kids with Dyscalculia

Or, if you are ready to transform your math time into game time, complete the form below to download your free guide, "Seven Free Engaging Math Games to Help Your Student with Dyscalculia.”