An unprecedented 25 world records have been broken during the swimming competition portion of the 2008 Beijing Olympics. Four years ago in Athens eight world records were broken.

Other sports are seeing world records being broken as well, but swimming is the predominant record-breaking sport at the 2008 Olympics.

Wondering why?

The Beijing pool is 3 meters deep. This is one meter deeper than standard competitive pools. The extra meter in depth actually dissipates the turbulence caused by the swimmer’s movement. This means less resistance.

Do technological improvements like this diminish the value of modern sporting records? Does this give today’s athletes an unfair advantage over athletes who came before? There are some who suggest that since the reduced friction suits used by runners and swimmers give them an advantage over previous competitors their race times should be adjusted accordingly.

Here’s the problem with that line of reasoning. Technology has always been part of sports. Consider the design of runners’ shoes and how bikes have been aerodynamically improved over time. Many factors have changed and improved over time.

What matters is how today’s athletes use what is available to them (within the rules). It’s not about whether they have an unfair advantage. Michael Phelps is the fastest swimmer ever. That he swam wearing a streamlined suit instead of a pair of baggy trunks is purely irrelevant. Now…if he’d done it taking steroids THAT would be a different matter altogether.