granted anecdotal, but when I was a swimmer lore was that center lanes were the fastest due to currents. They do a lot to counter these things though, special l

granted anecdotal, but when I was a swimmer lore was that center lanes were the fastest due to currents. They do a lot to counter these things though, special lane ropes, deeper pools etc. If you ever watch a lesser event (like non-olympic) they put less effort into dealing with the turbulence. see: https://youtu.be/Igf8PagbGKU?t=1m9s https://youtu.be/Igf8PagbGKU?t=1m9s as an example. look 3-5m behind those guys and see how crazy the water is and its spilling all over the other lanes. Also when they flip turn we used to wonder if it was better to go under your forward current that you were pushing just a second prior.