An Olympic-size swimming pool is the type of swimming pool used in the Olympic Games, where the race course is 50 meters in length. This is typically referred to as "long course", delineating it from "short course" which applies to competitions in pools that are either 25 meters or 25 yards in length.
The long course size is commonly used as a casual measure of volume.
Informally, "olympic-sized" is used as an adjective meaning "much larger than normal," and not necessarily, "meeting official Olympic specifications." Many hotels, homes and other venues describe their pools as "olympic-size" simply because they are at least 50% larger than typical. As true olympic-sized pools (short and long course) have become more numerous, this colloquial usage has become less common.
FINA specifications for an Olympic-size pool are as follows:[1]
| Length | 50 m (164 ft) |
| Width | 25 m (82 ft) |
| Number of lanes | 10 |
| Lane width | 2.5 m (8 ft 2 in) |
| Water temperature | 25–28 °C (77–82 °F) |
| Light intensity | minimum 1500 lux (140 foot-candles) |
| Depth | minimum 2.0 m (6 ft 7 in) |
| Volume | minimum 2,500 m3 (88,000 cu ft) or 2,500,000 L (550,000 imp gal; 660,000 US gal), depending on depth |
There must be two spaces 2.5 m (8 ft 2 in) wide outside lanes 1 and 8 (in effect, two empty lanes).[1] The length of 50 metres (164 ft) must be between the touch pads at the end of each lane, if they are used.[1]
At FINA's 2009 Congress, rules were approved for 10-lane courses for competition, as an alternative to the more traditional 8-lane course.