INDIANAPOLIS — The swimmers clang up 12 makeshift stairs, then dip underneath a 100-foot-tall curtain, into the unseen belly of Lucas Oil Stadium’s temporary Olympic beast. They emerge from a tunnel, and that’s when they hear the breathtaking roar. They see spotlights dancing chaotically, across a pool deck and throughout one half of this cavernous NFL arena. They hear music rumbling. A public address announcer booms their name.
Some glanced up Saturday to survey 20,689 fans, who’d filed into Lucas Oil for U.S. Olympic swimming trials; but this, some said, feels nothing like a standard swim meet.