There's something to be said for racing _someone_ and not just the clock, for the swimmers/racers, not even thinking about the audience.
Additionally, it would make races take 8x to 10x amount of time.
Additionally, it would make races take 8x to 10x amount of time.
Yes, it's more fun.
> Additionally, it would make races take 8x to 10x amount of time.
Well, that's not a problem, they can run different events in parallel. Eg swimming and running shouldn't interfere at all with each other.
They already run events in parallel.