 Over 10,000 USA swimming members reside in the Boston market, which boasts over 40 swimming clubs. And while swimming is one of the summer Olympic Games' most popular spectator sports, the possibility of a Boston 2024 Olympics could mean even more expansion and needed improvements in New England swimming. Former team USA Olympic swimmers and coaches have been vocal in their support for Boston's Olympic bid, several of whom have ties to the Boston area in some way. Swimming, a sport that's become the heart of the summer Olympic Games, a sport that's also bred former Olympic athletes who call Boston home, literally and in their hearts. Boston is obviously very near and dear to me. I lived there for eight years. I've only been away for six months, so I still kind of feel like I'm on an extended vacation. Alex Meyer is a former team USA Olympic open water swimmer and former Harvard graduate. He thinks Boston and the Olympic Games would be a perfect fit. Boston has some of the greatest sports fans in the world, and they love their teams and they root their teams. I think that if the people of Boston could get behind the Olympics, I think it would be really, really exciting. Just imagine the fervor of Red Sox and Pat's fans rooting for the USA, not just the Boston team. I think that would be really cool. And while Meyer formerly lived in Boston, three-time Olympian Adriana Marmalejo is a new Boston resident. They both believe the idea of a walkable Olympics is the most attractive characteristic Boston has to offer. I think everything is going to be so close together. In my experience at Athens, for example, we had to travel very far out of the city to go to the Olympic Village, to go to the pool. So having things in Boston, I think we're going to be concentrating everything into a smaller space, making it easier for athletes and for people coming to see the Olympics as well. They won't have to travel too far. I've seen some of the plans for the Olympic Park and Olympic Village. What makes that really cool is that it's two miles from, the Olympic Park is two miles from Boston, right from the heart of the city, where one thing that was a little frustrating in London was the Olympic Park was like an hour and a half drive away from real London. A Boston Summer Olympics would also be beneficial to New England's swimming culture as a whole. Swimming is always a favorite of the Olympics. Every Olympic year we see a boost and participation just because kids love it. You know, they see Michael Phelps, they see Ryan Lucti and they just want to be that. So every four years we see an increments in kids participating in the sport, which is fantastic. But such an increase in participation could be restrained by the current facilities, something Meyer hopes would change as an Olympic host city. The biggest thing that stands in its way in terms of growth is what coaches call water. Every coach is saying we need more water, we need more lane space or more lanes because there are a lot of kids that want to swim but often there is just not enough time and space in the pools within a given town or city. Anthony Marc Antonio is headed to the Olympic trials this summer. He may be one of the future hopefuls potentially competing in the 2024 Olympics. What do you think it would do for the swimming culture in Boston having a summer Olympics here? For the swimming culture? Oh, I think we would get really psyched for that. Young swimmers, swimmers my age at that time, I think they would really enjoy not having to travel far to see the really quality of it and nothing beats home. The future of the Boston bid hinges on a statewide referendum in November of 2016 until then Boston swim clubs are focusing on the now, which just so happens to be the 2016 US Olympic swimming trials slated for June 26 in Omaha, Nebraska.