What can the Olympic triathletes, Olympic para triathletes and Olympic marathon swimmers expect in the Pacific Ocean for the 2028 Los Angeles Olympic and Paralympic Games?
The site of the triathlons and marathon swim will be held in Alamitos Beach. Alamitos Beach can be seen in the background of the videos above. The beach is within the Long Beach Breakwater that creates very tranquil conditions for both events. The videos were taken by Eric Erbaugh and Merritt Morris and show the 2024 Naples Island Swim in the foreground.
Expected Conditions of Alamitos Beach
- water conditions: flat and warm – even with a strong wind, there will be minimal surface chop
- water temperatures: could be as high as 29°C (84°F) in the third and fourth weeks of July
- wind conditions: none to minimal
- marine life: maybe a small fish or two (i.e., no sharks, no jellyfish, no dolphins), but maybe a curious seal
- water coloration: light to rusty brown or marine greenish (think bay water)
- water taste: about as low salinity as you can imagine
- fog possibility: very low chance (but not zero) of fog (locally called a marine layer)
- smog possibility: nearly zero
- urban runoff possibility: only possible with a rare rain in July, but if it does, the race will most likely have to be postponed
- air temperature: cooler for morning starts with a high temperature of 27°C (82°F) and a very low possibility of falling to 20°C (68°F)
Olympic Triathlon and Olympic Triathlon Relays
The Long Beach Legacy Tri is an opportunity – on July 20th 2025 – for amateur, professional, and Olympic triathletes and para triathletes to race on the actual LA28 course.
The swim course is near Grissom Island, one of four artificial islands in San Pedro Bay. The islands were built in 1965 by a consortium of Texaco, Humble, Unocal, Mobil and Shell to drill oil, but the companies designed landscaping and sound walls to camouflage the operation and reduce noise. The islands are the only decorated oil islands in the United States. Since 1967, they are known as the Astronaut Islands with each island named in honor of a NASA astronaut who lost their lives in service. Grissom is named after Virgil I. “Gus” Grissom who lost his life in a 1967 Apollo 1 launch pad accident.
Olympic 10K Marathon Swim
There is no known similar preparations or known course layout for the Olympic 10K Marathon Swim for the LA28 Olympics. These plans are being formulated over the next year.
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