Sierra Tufts and Kit Hanley
42 minutes ago
INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. (WTTV/WANE) – The first swimmers have already arrived at the Olympic Pool inside Lucas Oil Stadium, with the Indianapolis Colts mascot, Blue, being the first to take a dip in the newly completed pool.
After the blue and before the Olympic hopefuls start competing, several swimmers from Fort Wayne will swim in the pool. 32 swimmers will compete from Fort Wayne. All swimmers belong to the Fort Wayne Swim Team or Summit City Aquatics. The Swim Trials is a two-day event with many courses for swimmers to gain experience. 400 swimmers will participate on the day and compete against other swimmers.
The meet will give athletes another chance to qualify for the Olympic Trials, which will be held June 15-23.
The once emerald green lawns are now diamond blue with water for the first time in history. There are three swimming pools in total, including the largest warm-up pool.
While the transformation has been swift and smooth over the past few weeks, the project has been years in the making. Watch the video above for a timelapse of how it was brought to life.
In the coming days, about 1,000 swimmers will compete for one of 52 spots on the U.S. team, and Sarah Meyer of the Indiana Sports Corp. said the event will help take the sport of swimming to a new level.
“This means a lot for swimming, not only will it bring a lot of fans and a lot of new fans, but we've already sold a lot of tickets and the swimmers have other qualifying events, but it's going to be very special for the swimmers to have that many people cheering them on,” Meyer said.
The event is expected to have an economic impact of more than $100 million, and plans call for all Lucas Oil stands to be filled throughout all nine days.
Eventually, plans are being made to build an Olympic trials pool in Fort Wayne. The Fort Wayne Swimming and Wellness Association has purchased the main competition pool. According to the association's website, a permanent location for the pool has not been determined. The association's plan is to use the pool as the home base for a new aquatics and wellness facility with an emphasis on health and wellness.
According to the organization's website, once complete, the facility will increase Fort Wayne's water capacity by nearly 50 percent and will allow other facilities to host new programs and outreach.
After the competition is over, the pool will be drained, dismantled and loaded into secure shipping containers.
Gibson told WANE 15 they hope to secure a location for the new venue within the next few months. Completion of the project could come as early as late 2026, but is more likely to be in 2027.
The pool will be stored in Fort Wayne until the venue is ready.
