You are working on Staging1

Beijing Water Cube Becomes an Ice Cube for 2022 Winter Olympics (VIDEO)

China’s National Aquatics Center, commonly referred to as the “Water Cube” during the Beijing Summer Olympics in 2008, will be known as the “Ice Cube” for the upcoming Beijing Winter Olympic and Paralympic Games starting this week. 

After renovations, the ten-lane pool was converted into a four-sheet curling rink. The “Ice Cube” in its current configuration host up to 4,600 people. During the 2008 Olympics, the facility had a capacity of 17,000

“The 50-meter pool had been completely drained and filled in with a very complex floor structure built on scaffolding with concrete blocks to ensure the folly would not move when the weight of the ice and players were added,” said Mark Callan, Deputy Chief Ice Technician for the Games in an interview with the World Curling Federation

The transformation from “Water Cube” to “Ice Cube” makes this building the only stadium in the world to host both aquatic and ice sports at the same time. 

“According to the current plan, it will only take a month to accomplish the transformation from swimming courses to ice rinks. And in the future, the two modes can be switched to one another to create a recyclable system,” Yang Qiyong, general manager of the National Aquatics Center said in an interview with Beijing Tourism.

Given the COVID-19 regulations in Beijing, the Olympics are operating under a “closed loop” system, and China stopped selling tickets to mainland China residents earlier this month. Currently, only special guests will be allowed to attend competitions. 

During the 2008 Olympics, the “Water Cube” had a capacity of 17,000 with 6,000 permanent seats and 11,000 temporary seats that were added for the Olympics. After the Games, it was converted to a public water park with huge water slides, while maintaining its competitive swimming and training pools.

The “Water Cube” hosted swimming, diving, and synchronized swimming at the 2008 Olympic Games. At these games, 25 swimming world records were broken. However, all but two records were broken by swimmers wearing the LZR Racer Bodyskin, which FINA banned in 2009

Michael Phelps’s success of going eight-for-eight gold medals at the 2008 Beijing Olympics was accomplished at the “Water Cube.” At the Games, Phelps set world records in seven events in his quest for eight gold medals (200 freestyle, 200 butterfly, 200 IM, 400 IM, 4×100 freestyle relay, 4×200 freestyle relay, and 4×100 medley relay). 

On Monday, Phelps’s 400 IM world record from Beijing became the second-longest standing men’s long course world record ever.

“The Water Cube” is also the location of one of the most iconic swimming races in history, the men’s 4×100 freestyle relay where the United States and France had an epic showdown en-route to destroying the world record.

Transformation Video:

In This Story

2
Leave a Reply

Subscribe
Notify of

2 Comments
newest
oldest most voted
Inline Feedbacks
View all comments
Dan
2 years ago

I assume that the switch is a permanent option with the ability to switch back and forth? Otherwise the 1997 Short Course World Champs had a temporary pool build on top of the ice at the Scandinavium and I think at least 1 of the practice rinks still had ice, so they did/could “host both aquatic and ice sports at the same time”.

1997 FINA World Swimming Championships (25 m) – Wikipedia

Sun Yang's Mom
2 years ago

Lol

About Braden Keith

Braden Keith

Braden Keith is the Editor-in-Chief and a co-founder/co-owner of SwimSwam.com. He first got his feet wet by building The Swimmers' Circle beginning in January 2010, and now comes to SwimSwam to use that experience and help build a new leader in the sport of swimming. Aside from his life on the InterWet, …

Read More »