An ingenious solution
Devised for the rowing and canoeing events at the Olympic Games Rome 1960, the Albano lane marking system was later adopted as the universal standard and remains in use today.
When it was rolled out for the first time at Rome 1960, the system involved the installation of 1,500 buoys and 26.5 kilometres of supporting cables to mark out the lanes at Lake Albano, the venue for the rowing and canoeing events. It was a solution to the challenges posed by the lake, situated in the crater of an ancient volcano and up to 170 metres deep in places, even close to the shore. This meant that the lane and distance markings commonly used at the time, which were supported by floating platforms held in place by anchors, were impractical.
Its installation required the sinking of 14 reinforced concrete piles into the lakebed, seven at either end of the course, with each pair 2,000 metres apart from each other. The cables carrying the buoys were then stretched tight between the piles to demarcate the lanes.
The rigid geometric pattern created by the cables and buoys ensured a level playing field for all competitors. Certified and adopted by the International Canoe Federation (ICF) and World Rowing – the respective world governing bodies of canoeing and rowing – for their high-performance competitions, the system was promptly named after the lake on which it came into being. It was used once more at Tokyo 2020, although the buoys were supported on fibre cables instead of metal ones. This is because the rowing and canoeing events were held at a salt-water venue.