Olympic Swimming Start Times Changed

The elimination of a roof that would have shielded swimmers from Athens’ ruthless heat has led Olympic organizers and executives of FINA, the international swimming federation, to move back the start time of finals at the swimming venue to 7:30 p.m. local time from 7 p.m.

Plans to build a roof over the pool were scrapped in March because of construction delays. FINA at the time expressed “great disappointment” over the decision. It said Wednesday it agreed to the time change, which had been requested by TV rights holders, “to provide the best possible conditions for the TV coverage and the operations.”

Mary Wagner, a spokeswoman for USA Swimming, said the 30-minute difference isn’t enough to disrupt swimmers’ plans.

However, a later start will lead to a later finish, at about 9:30, which she said could affect swimmers who must compete at night and again in preliminaries the next morning.

“We would have preferred not to move them back any later because it cuts into the athletes’ rest,” she said. “Between media [interviews] and drug testing, swimmers could easily be at the pool until midnight. It might not hurt every swimmer, but the ones who are in the spotlight could be affected.

“Michael Phelps might medal every night, and that means he’s got to be at the pool until midnight. That’s going to be tough.”

Lenny Krayzelburg, a triple-gold medalist at the Sydney Games, said he previously had heard talk of delaying the start. He also lamented the absence of a roof.

“It is a little disappointing to hear one of the main facilities is not going to be completely ready,” he said. “So we hope we are not going to find out that more and more things aren’t going to be ready.”