8. Helsinki Swimming Stadium

Next. Helsinki Swimming Stadium.

People have been swimming here at the swimming stadium almost every summer since the Helsinki Olympics. The swimming stadium was Finland's first outdoor swimming pool. Its final design was by architect Jorma Järvi.

The construction of the swimming stadium was a very long process, beginning as early as the 1930s. The project was expensive and various equipment had to be ordered from abroad. For example, the heating equipment for the pool sank at the very beginning of the war. During the war, the pools were used as a storage for Baltic herring.

The swimming stadium was finally completed in 1947, and in 1952, its sister outdoor pool was completed in Kumpula. This pool was very close to the men's athletes village, so it served as a training pool for the swimmers.

Both outdoor pools represent functionalist architecture and look very similar, even though Kumpula was designed by architect Pauli Salomaa as opposed to Jorma Järvi. The clean-lined structures of functionalism are a common feature of all the buildings constructed for the Helsinki Olympics.

Both outdoor pools are still very popular and in use from May to September. They have recently been refurbished and modernized to be more environmentally friendly with contemporary technology.

It's awesome to swim here at the swimming stadium, and it was incredible to watch how fast those athletes swam. The USA and Hungary teams were unbeatable in these pools. Athletes from both countries scooped up nearly an equal number of medals. Both won four gold and two silver medals, and the USA even took three bronze ones.

Here, for the last time, two swimming styles were swum at the same time, breaststroke and butterfly, which was significantly faster than traditional breaststroke. Fortunately, nowadays they are separate events.

That grandstand has a pretty fun curve. You can surely see all the pools from there. You can still jump from the diving towers today, and imagine being a brave jumper back in 1952.

I always enjoy swimming at the stadium. The water is always warm. Nowadays, the water in competitive pools has to be as warm as 27 degrees Celsius, but back in the day, it was 22 degrees, which is perfectly refreshing.

Finns roll in the snow and swim in ice holes in winter, so why would they need to bathe in warm water in the summer? Shall we head to the stadium now?