Olympic swimmers like Michael Phelps, Natalie Coughlin and Grant Hackett will compete in front of 17,000 fans at the National Aquatic Center ("Water Cube"), but the open water swimmers will compete in front of an estimated 37,000 people (1,200 permanent VIP seats + 15,800 bleacher seats + 10,000 standing room only "seats"). Swimming in front of 37,000 fans should be quite a treat for the open water swimmers!
If we compare the Beijing open water venue with the world's largest pool located at the San Alfonso del Mar resort in Algarrobo, Chile, the Beijing "pool" is simply at a scale previously unfathomable. The Chilean resort pool covers 80,000 square meters. The Shunyi Olympic Rowing-Canoeing Park is almost 80 times as large with an amazing 6.35 million square meters of water surface area.
Additionally, the marathon swim course course is very well laid-out and is relatively simple (basically a large rectangular course). But, the winds can blow quite strongly in the area, so the typical glassy water surface that you might expect for a rowing basin is not always the case. Because the venue is so large and is in a flat area, the winds can literally generated whitecaps and significant surface chop that can replicate roughwater swimming conditions found in any open water swim held off of the East or West coasts.
