Swimming

History
• History indicates that swimming is as old as painting on
walls- literally. The oldest evidence of swimming is a 10,000
year-old cave painting in southwest Egypt.
• The modern world’s first swimming style was actually the
breaststroke. Not only was it the first, it was also the only
style used until…
In 1844 the British raced against Native Americans and were
sorely beat because the Native American’s swam using an
early form of freestyle, or front crawl.
Despite the plain evidence that freestyle was much faster
than breaststroke, the British refused to adopt it because it
created a barbaric amount of splashing (completely un-
British).
 • Cpt. Matthew Webb was the first person to swim
the English Channel in 1875. Using breaststroke, it
took him 21 hours. He later died attempting to
swim the Niagara Falls.
• The first modern-day Olympics were held in Athens,
Greece (1896) with four swimming contests- all held
in open water.
• FINA, the swimming governing board that decides
official rules for the Olympics and other official
races, was formed in 1908. Yup, the some one as
today.
 • Stockholm, Germany Olympics (1912) were
the first Olympics to allow women to compete in
(some) swimming competitions.
• Mark Spitz won a record seven gold medals in the
Munich, Germany Olympics (1972).
• Benoit Lecomte swam across the entire Atlantic
Ocean in 72 days.
 Age of Perfection
As the basics of swimming have been hashed out, the
focus has turned from inventing to improving what we
already have. Scientists continually analyze and study
fluid dynamics, drag and lift to perfect swimming
methods and technique.
Some of these improvements we would take for
granted today:
– goggles
– cork lane dividers
– flip turns
– painted lines on the bottom of pool
While these all seem quite simple, their addition to
competitive swimming made a huge difference.
Swimming
Styles and
Strokes
 Freestyle/Front Crawl
The front crawl is likely the first swimming stroke you think
of when you picture swimming. It is commonly called
the freestyle stroke as most swimmers choose to use
this stroke in freestyle events as it is the fastest.
To execute the front crawl, you lie on your stomach and
propel yourself forward with alternating arm
movements in a sort of windmill motion that starts by
pushing underwater and recovers above water. Your legs
should propel you with a flutter kick, which is
performed with pointed feet as your legs move up and
down in alternation. You take breaths in time with the
strokes.
 Backstroke
The backstroke requires similar movements to the front
crawl, but it is done, as the name suggests, on your
back. Doctors often recommend this stroke to
individuals with back problems as it provides a great
back workout.
To perform the backstroke, while floating on your back,
alternate your arms with a windmill-like motion to
propel yourself backwards. Like the front crawl, your
arms should start the circular motion by pushing
underwater and recovering above water. Your legs
should engage in a flutter kick. Your face should be
above the surface as you look straight up.
 Breaststroke
The breast stroke is the slowest competitive swimming stroke, and it
is the most commonly learned stroke. It’s often taught to beginner
swimmers because it does not require putting your head
underwater. However, in competitive swimming, swimmers do
submerge their head and breathe at designated points in the
stroke.
This stroke is performed with your stomach facing down. Your arms
move simultaneously beneath the surface of the water in a half
circular movement in front of your body. Your legs perform the
whip kick at the same time. The whip kick is executed by bringing
your legs from straight behind you close to your body by bending
both at your knees and at your hips. Your legs then move outward
and off to the side before extending and coming back together.
This swimming technique is often compared to a frog’s movement.
 Butterfly
The butterfly is an advanced swimming stroke that provides an
excellent workout. It can be more difficult and tiring to learn, but it
is also a lot of fun. It is the second fastest competitive stroke, and
the favorite stroke of Olympic legend Michael Phelps.
To perform the butterfly stroke, start horizontal with your stomach
facing the bottom of the pool. Bring your arms simultaneously
over your head and push them into the water to propel you
forward and bring them up out of the water again to repeat. As
you move your arms into the water, you will push your head and
shoulders above the surface of the water.
Your legs will perform a dolphin kick, which requires your legs to stay
together and straight as you kick them similarly to how a dolphin’s
lower body and tail moves.
 Sidestroke
This is an older swimming style that is not typically used in
swim competitions, but is still an important stroke to
learn for safety reasons. It is most commonly used by
lifeguards when they rescue someone, as this stroke
most easily allows you to pull something along with you.
It involves swimming on your side, as the name implies,
propelling yourself forward with a scissor kick and
alternating arm movements. It’s one of the easier
strokes to learn, and can be a nice break from the more
popular swim strokes if you’re looking to add more
variety into your routine.
 Elementary Backstroke
This is a variation from the typical backstroke you see.
It uses a reversed breaststroke kick while your arms
move in sync beneath the water. It’s called
“elementary” because of its simple technique that’s
easy to pick up, and is often one of the first swim
strokes taught to new swimmers for this reason.
 Combat Side Stroke
This is a form of the sidestroke that all US Navy SEALs
have to learn. Efficient and energy-saving, the
combat side stroke is a kind of a combination of
breaststroke, freestyle, and, obviously, sidestroke. It
reduces the swimmer’s profile in the water, making
them less visible while allowing them to swim with
maximum efficiency–two critical criteria for combat
operations that require swimming on the surface.
This is a relatively complicated stroke to learn.
 Trudgen
This stroke evolved from sidestroke and is named after
the English swimmer John Trudgen. You swim
mostly on your side, alternating lifting each arm out
of the water and over your head. It uses a scissor
kick that only comes in every other stroke. When
your left arm is over your head, you spread your
legs apart to prepare to kick, and then as the arm
comes down you straighten your legs and snap
them together for the scissor kick.
Swimwear
 There are different styles of swimwear. These
include
• One-piece swimsuit
• Tankinis (long top)
• Bikinis
• Skirted swimsuits
• Swim shorts
• Trunks
• Swim briefs
 Depending on your local pool policy or the activity
you are doing, a range of other types of clothing
may be worn. This can include:
• Fitted t-shirt or leggings under swimwear
• Wetsuit style or fitted swimming t-shirt
• Burkini swimming costume
• 3/4 length swim shorts in thin nylon material
• Swim or board shorts
• Leggings with or without shorts
 What NOT to WEAR
The important thing to note is that clothing shouldn’t be
overly baggy or made of heavy materials such as denim or
wool. These can become water logged and heavy, making it
difficult to swim or float. It is also important to make sure
pieces of clothing can not get stuck in filters or other parts of
a pool, which makes lycra a good material to wear.
Other clothing which shouldn’t be worn includes:
• Leggings over swimwear
• Baggy t-shirt and trousers
• Tracksuits or jogging bottoms
• Outdoor shorts or trousers
• Jeans