The Campus Recreation Complex (CRC) is home to many things with one of the most notable facets of this facility being the McAuley Aquatic Center. It was built for the 1996 Olympic Games as the venue for swimming, diving, synchronized swimming, and water polo. The pool continues to be one of the fastest in the nation and is often utilized by the world’s fastest swimmers and CRC patrons are lucky enough to call this former Olympic facility home.  “You name the swimmer and they have been here,” said Nate Randall, CRC aquatic operations & risk manager. Check out this list of swimmers you have shared the pool with over the years!

The 2016 U.S. Olympic Swimming Team, including the most decorated Olympian of all time Michael Phelps practiced at Georgia Tech's McAuley Aquatic Center from July 21-30. It served as their final training camp before the squad flew to Rio for the Summer Games. It also marked the 20th anniversary of the 1996 Olympic Games in Atlanta. Check out this video highlighting one of the team’s practices at the CRC.

In 2011 the CRC hosted the Duel in the Pool, a dual meet between the US and European all-star team featuring swimmers from over 18 nations. This meet featured 17 men and 18 women including notable swimmers like Michael Phelps, Missy Franklin, Amanda Weir, Ryan Lochte, and Natalie Coughlin to name a few.

The CRC hosted the 2018 TYR pro swim series in March. The majority of the top American swimmers were in attendance, along with plenty of international stars. Internationally on the women’s side included: Sarah Sjostrom, Yuliya Efimova, Penny Oleksiak, Taylor Ruck, and Federica Pellegrini, among others. The men’s list included Vlad Morozov, Felipe Lima, Bruno Fratus, Andriy Govorov, Erik Persson, Ryosuke Irie, Joao De Lucca, and Marcelo Chierighini.

Most recently the CRC hosted 2016 Olympic gold medalist, Blake Pieroni for a Mizuno USA Swimming promotional event in November 2018. He is a gold medalist and current member of the United States National Team, as well as the first sponsored swimmer for Mizuno USA. Currently, Pieroni is training for the 2020 Summer Games.

The McAuley Aquatic Center is just one of the many benefits of being a CRC member. Above the Olympic pool, you can find six basketball courts, three dance studios, an inline hockey rink, and an elevated four-lane running track with an impressive city view. Connected to the Aquatic Center is a 15,000-square-foot fitness center with four racquetball courts, a squash court, a climbing wall, classrooms, and office suites, in addition to a leisure pool and waterslide. If you are a current member make sure to take advantage of this special piece of history or if you are interested in joining the CRC check out the different membership options available at crc.gatech.edu/memberships.