How do lap swimmers share a lane when one person treats every pass like a challenge?

I swim before work at a public recreation center. The pool has designated slow, medium, and fast lanes, but those labels are relative. At 6:15 a.m., the medium lane may contain a former competitive swimmer warming down, a steady distance swimmer, and me trying to fit exercise between coffee and a commute.

Most days we manage. We circle in the posted direction, leave gaps, and let faster swimmers pass at the wall. One regular has turned that system into a contest.

He starts directly behind slower swimmers instead of leaving space, taps feet repeatedly, and accelerates when someone tries to let him pass. If another swimmer moves to the fast lane, he follows and complains that they are blocking it. If they stay in medium, he says they chose the wrong lane.

Last week he caught me halfway down the pool. I finished the length and stopped in the corner so he could go ahead. Instead of passing, he stopped beside me and said I needed to “learn lane awareness.” I pointed out that I had yielded. He said I should have known not to push off before him two lengths earlier.

The lifeguard heard part of it and told both of us to be courteous. That made the situation feel like a mutual personality conflict. It is not. I do not need him to like my pace. I need the posted passing system to mean something.

Changing lanes is not always possible. The slow lane can be crowded with water walkers, while the fast lane may be genuinely beyond me. Waiting for another time would mean giving up the only session that fits my schedule.

Several swimmers have begun arranging themselves around him. People pause longer at the wall or leave the lane when he arrives. His speed has effectively become authority even though he does not work there.

I am considering asking the facility manager for a clearer rule: pass only at walls unless there is explicit agreement, leave a reasonable gap, and direct disputes to staff. I worry that naming one swimmer will sound petty when no one has been injured.

What etiquette actually works in a mixed-pace lap lane? Should I speak to him once outside the water, document the repeated behavior for staff, or accept that crowded public lanes require the slower swimmer to absorb the friction?