Why do the athletes get to have all of the fun during the Olympics? We construction workers deserve a little bit of the action, too! In order for American swimmers to be chosen to represent Team USA in the Olympics, they must first qualify at the U.S. Olympic Team Trials, which were held in Omaha, Nebraska this year.

The Olympic pools that are used for the trials, however, are not permanent, and builders only had 16 days to complete the construction. According to NBC Olympics, as many as 200 workers were needed to complete the construction of two 1,000 gallon pools in that short time frame. Trades included mechanical, plumbing, electrical, welding and steel contractors. So, while Michael Phelps, Katie Ledecky, and Simone Manuel are breaking records and winning gold medals, the construction workers are the behind-the-scenes heroes. You heard us, Michael, Katie and Simone, fork over some of that gold! Alright, maybe that's a little dramatic, but at least let the construction workers hold it.

Foundation for #SwimTrials16 competition pool being set today in #Omaha #RoadToRio pic.twitter.com/ihQCgvjU5h
— USA Swimming (@USASwimming) May 24, 2016

Below is a timelapse video of the pool construction that USA Swimming shared on Youtube which shows the entire construction process of one of the pools. While the two pools took 16 days total to build, each pool took 10 days from start to finish.

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Nov 16, 2020

[VIDEO] Watch 1400 Days of Work Building the NFL’s Largest Stadium in 3 Minutes

Nov 16, 2020

While I’ve written a lot about the new Las Vegas Raiders stadium over the past couple of years, that stadium wasn’t the only one to make its NFL debut this season. SoFi Stadium, located in Inglewood, California and the new home to the Los Angeles Rams and the Los Angeles Chargers, officially held its ribbon cutting ceremony on September 8 of this year, but, as well all know, it’s not real until the timelapse video is released.

Nov 16, 2020

Sep 23, 2020

[Timelapse] Watch 32 Months of New Las Vegas Raiders Stadium Construction In 3 Minutes

Sep 23, 2020

Sure, I’ve already written about the completion of Allegiant Stadium, the brand new home to the Las Vegas Raiders, but I ask you this: Is a building actually built if there’s no timelapse video to show for it? I submit to you that it is not.

Sep 23, 2020

Sep 13, 2018

{Timelapse] 8 Years of Construction on the 3 World Trade Center

Sep 13, 2018

It’s hard to believe that it has been 17 years since the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center in New York City. I came to the realization this week that many of the men and women that are about to enter the workforce will never have a true understanding about how the country felt that day and how it responded. New York is still responding to this day and, even though the skyline will never quite be the same, there are new buildings in their place paying tribute to those who lost their lives that day.

Sep 13, 2018

Nov 30, 2017

[Timelapse] Watch 8 Years of Construction of the Louvre Abu Dhabi in 3 Minutes

Nov 30, 2017

Construction timelapse videos make extremely complicated and long projects look much easier to build than they actually are. The recently opened Louvre in Abu Dhabi took 8 years to complete, but you can watch the full process in only 3 minutes.

Nov 30, 2017

Jun 20, 2017

{Timelapse] Construction of 57 Story NYC Skyscraper That Looks like a Jenga Tower

Jun 20, 2017

Standing 821 feet (250m) in the New York City skyline, the new 57-story residential tower, called 56 Leonard Street, has opened its doors to residents. The 145 condos that inhabit the high rise range in size from 1,418 square feet to 6,400 square feet and in price from $3.5 million to $50 million. Amazingly, even with those staggering prices, the developer told the New York Times that 92% of the units had sold in 2013, even though the tower officially opened last year.

Jun 20, 2017

May 15, 2017

[Timelapse] Atlanta’s I-85 Bridge Rebuild Completed a Month Ahead of Schedule

May 15, 2017

Traffic in Atlanta sucks, there’s really no other way to say it. So imagine the tough position commuters and city officials were put in when a bridge of a major highway on the north side of the city caught fire on March 20, 2017 and was damaged beyond repair. 243,000 motorists were forced to find alternate routes to work for the estimated 3 months that it was going to take to rebuild it. Now, imagine how thrilled they were when the highway opened back up one month ahead of schedule.

May 15, 2017

Mar 17, 2017

[Timelapse] Construction of the Atlanta Braves New Stadium in 60 Seconds

Mar 17, 2017

Atlanta, GA has been busy recently updated their major sports facilities. The new Atlanta Falcon’s new $1.4 Billion football stadium just recently celebrated a milestone as contractors installed the final roof beam. That stadium is scheduled to open before the start of the 2017 NFL season. Before that, however, the Atlanta Braves’ new baseball stadium will officially open in time to kick off the MLB season, which starts on April 2nd.

Mar 17, 2017

Oct 25, 2016

[Timelapse] Watch Construction of New Atlanta Falcons Stadium Up to the Final Roof Beam Placement

Oct 25, 2016

The NFL is a cash cow and nothing makes that more evident than the soaring costs to build the newest NFL stadiums. The past four stadiums to open were the Minnesota Vikings’ US Bank Stadium (watch timelapse here), the San Francisco 49ers’ Levi’s Stadium, the New York Jets/Giants’ MetLife Stadium, and the Dallas Cowboys’ AT&T Stadium. All four surpassed $1 Billion in construction cost. The first stadium to open after the Millennium was the Cincinnati Bengals’ Paul Brown Stadium, which only cost a miniscule (relatively) $455 million ($626 million in 2016 dollars) to build. The oldest stadium still in use by any NFL team is the Oakland Raiders’ Coliseum, which was completed in 1966 and cost $25.5 million ($186 million in 2016 dollars). That stadium also spent $200 million ($302 million in 2016 dollars) in renovations in 1995 and 1996. As you can see, dollars spent on NFL stadiums have increased significantly in the past few decades and there’s no end in sight.

Oct 25, 2016

Oct 20, 2016

[Timelapse] Demolition of an Entire New York City Block

Oct 20, 2016

Not all demolition videos can be implosions and that’s OK, because each type of demolition is its own art form. Sometimes contractors are bound by the constraints of the job, especially when located in an area with a large concentration of pedestrians and other public areas. That was the case for the construction site of the future One Vanderbilt Tower in New York City, which just completed the demolition of five different buildings covering an entire city block.

Oct 20, 2016

Sep 12, 2016

[Timelapse] Watch the One World Trade Center Be Constructed Over 11 Years

Sep 12, 2016

Yesterday marked the 15 Anniversary of the terrorist attacks on New York's World Trade Centers on September 11, 2001. The attacks left a noticeable hole in the New York skyline for several years after the Twin Towers collapsed, but that hole has since been filled with a new and symbolic tower, the One World Trade Center.

Sep 12, 2016