Why is swimming so much more popular than track?

I am not sure swimming is more popular. On what are you basing this?

USA track wins about the same number of medals as US Swimming does. In Olympic history the US has won 800 medals in track and 580 in swimming.

A million high school kids run track every year. High school swimming has about 300K participants. A lot of top swimmers don't swim in high school, but I am going out on a short limb to say there are not 700K high school age swimmers outside of high school teams.

It’s not more popular than track.

It’s just on in the first week of the Olympics and track is in the second week.

I don’t hear much about swimming in between Olympics.

I don’t know if swim fans notice much about track between the Games.

Yes, a bunch of American Golds and world records helps.

I think track records are a much bigger deal since they are so rare.

There are major track records on the books from the 80s and 90s.

Bob Beamon’s famous long jump record from 1968 is still #2 all time.

Easy. You’ve got the same people competing multiple nights so the athletes are more familiar to an average viewer, and they are winning multiple medals. Track stars are basically one night and done.

more sexually attractive men that are shirtless and not the same weight as the average 16 year old girl (no offense galen rupp and grant fisher)

swimming is something we associate with vacations. running is something we associate with suffering/punishment

USA dominates too(we like winners)

I like the potential for fast swimming times in semis. Swimmers are not as aware of their competitors, so close to max effort even in semi-finals often. I would like to see a four turn stagger, 800m. We would see fast times in semis like we saw, 1976 women 800m. They only had a two turn stagger if I recall that year.

It gets press because it inflates the US medal count. No one in or out of the US cares about it though.

jbdhdye wrote:

Is it that the races come rapid fire? Good for the Olympic viewer and their ADHD and need for a feel good story?

Or is it simply the easiest for a casual American to relate to because usually America is pretty dominant at it?

Whatever it is, track needs a Rowdy Gains. Dude is killing it

Its these things, ya. America is pretty good at track too, but a lot of times in the middle distance and distance races, America is no where to in competition. There is almost never a swimming event without an American in competition for a medal and if there is, its a few mins to the next event where there will be an American.

White American medalists

It's not. It's an "olympic" sport just like track.

the difference is the olympic fully OWNS elite swimming to the point where nobody hears a whisper of anything that happens other than at the olympics. Track at least has a following that pays attention the rest of the time.

The reason may be that swimming is an unnatural, evolutionarily irrelevant skill. Nobody ever survived because they could swim faster than someone else. Okay, wise guy, maybe someone got away from a crocodile while their friend got eaten, but don't go saying that had any effect on the gene pool. So every 4 years a new generation comes along with new innovations that send the last generation home devastated.

That's what happened with that American whining about losing to the "Russian Olympic Committee" guy twice. He claims doping while lying that he's not claiming doping. Fact is the Russian is younger and has more skills.

Clam Evans wrote:

White American medalists

Actually good point.

Clam Evans wrote:

White American medalists

Noted black man: Galen Rupp

phelpsisthegoat wrote:

more sexually attractive men that are shirtless and not the same weight as the average 16 year old girl (no offense galen rupp and grant fisher)

swimming is something we associate with vacations. running is something we associate with suffering/punishment

USA dominates too(we like winners)

They aren't dominating this year.

This is a funny thread. You never EVER hear of swimming outside of the Olympics. Literally, when have you ever seen any swimming mentions anywhere outside of the Olympics? You haven’t. It’s non existent. Track will get a few random mentions on ESPN every year. Swimming gets zero.

phelpsisthegoat wrote:

more sexually attractive men that are shirtless and not the same weight as the average 16 year old girl (no offense galen rupp and grant fisher)

Heh, makes you think... perhaps runners should be made to wear 2" shorts and go bare chested? Likewise, the bare minimum for the ladies too. Might increase the popularity of the sport on TV.

as a television event swimming is much better. I think that’s mostly what makes it more popular with the average joe

jbdhdye wrote:

Is it that the races come rapid fire? Good for the Olympic viewer and their ADHD and need for a feel good story?

Or is it simply the easiest for a casual American to relate to because usually America is pretty dominant at it?

Whatever it is, track needs a Rowdy Gains. Dude is killing it

Mostly white contestants, much easier to follow and understand. If one thing covid has taught us, minorities get screwed and the education system in this country is a disaster so a simple sport to watch like swimming is going to have more fans.

2008 Michael Phelps.

As others have noted its not.

Did you catch the swimming league series on ESPN last month? What about that exciting Pan-Pac meet(whenever that was). No you didn't.

phelpsisthegoat wrote:

more sexually attractive men that are shirtless and not the same weight as the average 16 year old girl (no offense galen rupp and grant fisher)

swimming is something we associate with vacations. running is something we associate with suffering/punishment

USA dominates too(we like winners)

I'm not sure if your theory holds for the likes of Linford Christie, Asafa Powell, Ryan Bailey, Usain Bolt, or, currently, Fred Kerley, Michael Norman, etc.