Katie Ledecky, Gretchen Walsh, and More Boost NFL Stadium to Break Olympics Swimming Record

The Lucas Oil Stadium has made history! Right from the onset, the hype was sky-high as the pool at Indianapolis was not real. In fact, it was the NFL stadium that was transformed into a breathtaking swimming venue for the US Swimming Olympic Trials. And after the conclusion of the event, it can be said for sure that the venue did not disappoint. The fans saw the likes of Katie Ledecky securing yet another Olympic ticket to extend her reign of greatness. 

Next up, the magic of Gretchen Walsh kept the fans mesmerized. Competing in the 100m butterfly semi-final heats, Walsh established a new world record for the others to challenge for. She clocked a time of 55.18s to seal her berth in Paris as well. And while there were so many great performances, the crowd, too, did not disappoint. In fact, the Lucas Oil Stadium recorded one of the highest footfalls in history.

Lucas Oil Stadium witness the loudest cheers

16000 fans turned up to witness the finals session of the Rio Olympics in 2016. Back in the day, this was recorded to be the biggest footfall ever in such an event. But come the 2024 Paris Olympics trials, things have gone up by several notches. Set in the historic Lucas Oil Stadium, the official attendance record for the 2024 US Olympics trial for swimming was a whopping 20,689. 

Confirming the stats on social media was an account named Dominic Miranda. Taking to his X account, the user wrote, “RECORD-BREAKING attendance at the U.S. Olympic Swim Trials here at Lucas Oil Stadium. 20,689 (!!) people here surpassing the previous record of 16,000 attendees set at a finals session of the 2016 Rio Olympic Games. WOW! @WTHRcom” Surely, this was a proud moment for everybody associated with swimming. And echoing a similar sentiment, swimming legend Michael Phelps shared his excitement on Instagram. He uploaded a picture of the attendance and added a couple of love emojis to express his joy. 

Meanwhile, as attendance is surely a huge boost for the swimming community, not everything is going fine. The grassroots level of swimming has been in constant deprivation of proper media coverage. And this has led to a significant outcry from the swim enthusiasts. It also included a prominent NFL star. 

Robert Griffin voices concern for lack of social media coverage of NCAA swimming

Recently, an X user named Kyle Sockwell pointed out the glaring problem of grassroots swimming. The user posted about how NCAA Swimming does not have any social media presence or a proper broadcasting program. In his post, he also mentioned how the NCAA did not even have an official account for swimming. While this was utterly embarrassing and unfair for the athletes, former NFL star Robert Griffin addressed such an issue. 

Agreeing to Sockwell’s post, Robert Griffin commented, “I don’t disagree. There has to be a place for every sport to thrive and it starts with coverage to let people know it’s there.” Thus, while the record of Lucas Oil Stadium is definitely positive, the higher authorities must also look after the grassroots.