Special report: 2008 Olympic Games

    BEIJING, Aug. 2 (Xinhua) -- Besides the revolutionary Speedo LZRRacer, Beijing's futuristic swimming venue, the Water Cube, is perhaps another element that will drive Olympic swimmers to their best performance.

    Known officially as the National Aquatics Centre, the Water Cube's translucent, blue-toned outside skin makes every athlete gasp at the first sight. Its swimming pool, which glitters with sunshine penetrating through the membrane ceiling, is seen by many as a would-be birthplace of a list of new world records.

    "The pool is great. It's very bright here. The water temperature is awesome. It feels fast. I'm very excited to swim fast here," Greek swimmer Apostolos Tagkarakis said after one and half hour training Saturday morning.

    "I'm looking to make the top 16 (of the men's 50 meter freestyle). I think to drop two tenths off my time is possible. I'm looking to better that and beat the national record," Tagkarakis said.

    Tagkarakis's excitement was shared by his coach Georgios Vallas."It's amazing. It's one of a kind. I've never seen something like this before. It's a very fast pool and I believe there will be very fast events."

    The coach also joked that Beijing has set the standard too high for the 2012 London Olympics. "The English will have to do very well to overcome the amazing stuff here."

    The outside skin of the Water Cube is made of Teflon-like material. Composed of two layers, it's separated by an interior passage that allows the building, which seats 17,000, to breathe like a greenhouse.

    Designers said that the Water Cube absorbs solar radiation and reduces thermal loss, guarantees the incoming of most of the sunlight which serves as the thermal source of swimming pool water.

    The temperature of the swimming pool is projected to be kept at 28 degrees Celsius, the best suitable for swimmers. The swimming pool is 13 meters deep, which, according to the designers, can reduce the interference of water temperature variation.

    "The water is as smooth as honey," Bulgarian Mihail Alexandrov said after his first training in the pool.

    For those who are making their Olympic debut, the feeling is more ardent.

    "We feel like we've snuck in. We keep saying 'we're here, we're here'. It's just a privilege to be part of something like this. We don't even have an indoor pool, it's all outdoors," Botswana's coach Alison Lagrange said.

    "This is the first time Botswana has ever competed in the swimming (at the Olympic Games). We've been given a wild card and so we're swimming the 50 meter freestyle. In Botswana, swimming is very new. To get a personal best for them, that's what it's about. This is huge for us," he said.

    Since February this year, the international swimming world has witnessed quite a splash with 49 world records (long course) broken.

    "It's been a crazy beginning to the year. February and March have been seeing some very fast times this season and I'm expecting to see some more faster times here," Creek swimmer Tagkarakis said.