BEIJING, Feb 1 (Reuters) - Senior Olympic official Kevan Gosper hailed Beijing's Water Cube as the best aquatic centre for a Games he had ever seen when the iconic venue finally opened for business this week.

　　The $143 million centre with its distinctive bubble-wrapped exterior will host the swimming, diving and synchronised swimming at the Aug. 8-24 Games.

　　Gosper, inspecting media facilities on the first evening of the first test event on Thursday in his role as head of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) press commission, said he thought the athletes would find it "awe-inspiring".

　　"The pool's out of this world, it seems like it's from another planet," the Australian, who competed at the 1956 Melbourne Games, told reporters.

　　"I think having all three disciplines under one roof is an important. It's the finest aquatics centre I've seen at an Olympic Games... by far."

　　Gosper said he thought the facility might even be "overwhelming" for new Olympians.

　　One Olympic champion was impressed neither by her performance in the pool nor by the measures taken to keep the chill of the Beijing night out of the venue.

　　"I can't say too much because I'm not in shape yet," said Athens 200 metres butterfly gold medallist Otylia Jedrzejczak after finishing third in her heat.

　　"When I swim with the other girls I can feel the waves, I don't know whether that's good or bad.

　　"And it's too hot in the pool and too hot in the building," the Pole added.

　　Mongolian teenager Tsogjargal Narantsog would have to improve miraculously just to make the qualifying times for this August's Olympics but he will go down in history as the first athlete to swim competitively in the pool.

　　After his two rivals in the opening heat at the China Open meet pulled out, the 16-year-old swam the 100 metres butterfly on his own, clocking a time of one minute, 6.79 seconds -- more than 16 seconds off Ian Crocker's world record.

　　A couple of thousand spectators made plenty of noise inside the centre and dozens more posed outside for pictures with the building glowing blue in the background.

　　"Of course the water is going to be a bluish tone and I like the blues elsewhere and particularly get a good feeling when you see it from the outside," Canadian Elizabeth Rolland said.

　　"And that stays inside you when you enter the building."