Swimming

Swimming is a water sport that involves propelling the body by using arm and leg motions and the body's natural buoyancy. The sport includes timed events in various swim styles and strokes, such as butterfly and breaststroke. Swimmers compete in swimming pools and in open water, such as lakes and oceans. It is both an individual and a team sport. Unlike the skills required for many sports, swimming is at the basic level a skill of survival and water safety, and is frequently taught to children.

Swimming has been a part of all modern Olympic Games. Numerous local, regional, national, and international organizations also hold swim competitions. Many people also swim recreationally, and the activity has been touted for numerous health benefits.

Swimming has an ancient history. Prehistoric cave paintings show people swimming, and populations living near water have likely always engaged in some amount of swimming whether for practical purposes or enjoyment. Researchers have found evidence that swimming races occurred in Asia as early as the first century BCE, and ancient Greeks and Romans taught swimming as part of military training and education for boys. Records mention some ancient Greek swimming races. As an organized sport, however, it did not truly develop until the early nineteenth century.

Origins and History

Modern competitive swimming got its start in Great Britain in 1828, when the first indoor swimming pool was built. Swimming competitions became increasingly popular among the British. The National Swimming Society (later British Swimming) held regular events, and other organizations were soon launched. Metropolitan Swimming Clubs of London, which later became the Amateur Swimming Association, was founded in 1869. The first instruction programs in swimming were in Great Britain.

Meanwhile, the competitive spirit was taking hold elsewhere as well. The first swimming championship was held in 1846 in Australia, and the Amateur Athletic Union in the United States was founded in 1888. The American Red Cross began to offer swimming instruction in 1916 and both saved lives and developed interest in the sport.

The Fédération Internationale de Natation (FINA) was founded in London in 1908 as an international governing body for many prominent water sports, including swimming as well as diving, synchronized swimming (a.k.a. artistic swimming) and water polo. It included Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Great Britain, Hungary, and Sweden at its inception. FINA was renamed World Aquatics in 2023.

The earliest strokes used in organized competitive swimming were the breaststroke and sidestroke. The breaststroke was first described late in the seventeenth century, and was frequently used in open water. The sidestroke, which at first involved keeping both arms underwater, was largely replaced in competition by the crawl, or freestyle. The crawl was popular in the Pacific during the late nineteenth century, in part because it is the fastest stroke and is favored by distance swimmers. The crawl has been the most commonly used stroke in races since 1896.

Swimming events were included in the first modern Olympic Games in 1896, but only men participated in Olympic events until 1912. The first swimming events were breaststroke and freestyle, and in 1904, backstroke was included. Butterfly developed when breaststroke athletes changed their stroke to increase speed; the variation was ruled out for breaststroke events, but eventually the butterfly stroke became its own event and was included in the 1956 Olympic Summer Games. Events for men and women are the same, with one difference: men swim 1,500-meter freestyle, while women swim 800 meters.

Open-water swimming developed a following in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Captain Matthew Webb was the first person to swim the English Channel in 1875, but many other athletes followed him into the record books. Webb died in 1883 when he drowned attempting to swim across the Whirlpool Rapids at Niagara Falls. Open-water distance swimming was added to the Olympic Summer Games in 2008. Such swims are also included in other athletic events, such as triathlons.

Early swim practice involved simply swimming as much as possible. During the 1950s, interval training became the standard. This involves swimming a set distance then resting, and repeating this sequence. Interval training times and rest times are determined by whether the athlete is developing endurance or speed. Endurance swimmers take rest periods that are shorter than the swim period.

Rules and Regulations

FINA established rules allowing only four strokes in modern competition: freestyle (crawl), backstroke, breaststroke, and butterfly. Freestyle races in competition are measured in meters and include distances of 50, 100, 200, 400, 800, and 1,500 meters. Backstroke, breaststroke, and butterfly races are 100 and 200 meters. Individual medley races are 200 and 400 meters, while the medley relay is 4 x 100 meters. Freestyle relays are 4 x 100 and 4 x 200 meters.

A competition longer than 1,500 meters qualifies as distance swimming. Long-distance races are usually from 24 to 59 kilometers (15 to 37 miles). Some are longer, including the Lake Michigan Endurance Swim, which is 80 kilometers (50 miles). World Aquatics official distance races are 5, 10, and 25 kilometers. Several marathon swim organizations oversee distance-swimming events. The Channel Swimming Association, for example, has been controlling swims of the English Channel since 1927. It verifies times of swims between Dover, England, and Calais, France.

Strategy and Tactics

Backstroke swims begin in the water, while all other races begin from a standing or forward-leaning position, which allows the athlete to gain immediate distance with the dive before beginning the stroke.

When swimming freestyle, the swimmer's body should be at the water surface and as flat as possible. The arms alternate strokes and the legs alternate kicks. The swimmer kicks approximately six times through each arm cycle, although this varies, for example a distance swimmer is likely to kick less frequently. The swimmer's face is underwater, so the athlete turns his or her head to the side during strokes to breathe; the swimmer may breathe bilaterally, alternating sides every 1.5 stroke cycles, or unilaterally, only on one side at a time determined by the swim distance and tempo. Lifting the head upward creates drag because it lowers the hips and legs. Coaches may help athletes develop several freestyle formats based on the type of swimming they do. For example, sprint-speed competitors may focus on a shoulder-driven freestyle to maximize speed, but a distance swimmer would be unable to sustain such strokes for a long race.

The backstroke is a comparatively young stroke in competitive swimming. It first appeared at the Olympics in 1900. It is similar to freestyle swimming, only backward. The swimmer is facing upward, and can breathe more freely. The swimmer enters the water at the referee's signal, grabs a bar on the starting block, plants his or her feet on the wall, and at the start of the race pushes off using the legs. The swimmer kicks with his or her legs from the hips. The arms work in opposition, and the swimmer should breathe in with one arm recovery, out with the next.

When swimming breaststroke, both arms pull and the legs kick simultaneously. The competitive swimmer remains underwater except to bring the head and shoulders up to breathe following the arm sweep, while bringing the arms together close to the chest to begin the next sweep. The leg movement has been described as a frog kick, with the legs bent during the breath and kicked as the swimmer's head goes into the water, with arms extended forward, to begin the next arm stroke. Recreational swimmers may keep their heads above water throughout, while fitness and competitive swimmers will inhale each time they raise their heads, and exhale through the arm sweep movement.

The butterfly stroke is physically demanding. The swimmer is horizontal, with the face downward. The athlete completes two dolphin kicks per cycle. The arms sweep simultaneously from forward, back past the chest and toward the hips, then upward out of the water, fully extend forward, and enter the water to return to their initial position. The body, meanwhile, undulates, while the whipping dolphin kicks complete the wave-like motion. The head is thrust upward during the arm stroke on the second dolphin kick, allowing the swimmer to inhale. Many swimmers breathe on alternate strokes, or breathe on each stroke later in a race when the body requires more oxygen.

Open-water swimmers endure rough seas, storms, currents, and the dangers of aquatic life, including jellyfish stings and even encounters with sharks. Races often include several loops of a course marked by three or four buoys. Competitive swimming in lakes and oceans is very different from pool events. It can involve crowding, especially at the start, when everyone jumps in at once, and at buoys as the swimmers change direction. Open-water races usually cover very long distances, including 25-kilometer races.

The prevalence of international competition has led to standardized equipment. Pools are usually 50 meters (164 feet) and meet guidelines for gutters that minimize waves, electrically operated touch pads and timing mechanisms, and large clocks to enable athletes to view their times. Timers began recording races in hundredths of a second in 1972.

Professional Leagues and Series

World Aquatics (formerly known as FINA) is the world governing body for swimming. Many competitions exist, including highly regarded events such as the Aquatic Super Series in Australia. The primary venue for world recognition is the Summer Olympic Games.

Popularity

The popularity of swimming varies by locale. In Australia, for example, many people participate in organized competition as well as recreational swimming. In countries with fewer outdoor opportunities to swim, it is often more a life skill or a fitness exercise than a sport, and increases in popularity during warm-weather months. Many schools and universities around the world have swim teams, and some communities have local leagues. According to the US Census Bureau, swimming is the fourth most popular recreational activity in the United States, with tens of millions of people participating each year in pools, lakes, oceans, and rivers.

Health Benefits of Swimming

Swimming, whether competitive or recreational, is widely recognized as a healthy form of aerobic exercise. According to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), regular aerobic activity can reduce the risk of many chronic diseases and improve health outcomes for those with conditions such as heart disease or diabetes. Research has suggested that people who swim regularly reduce their risk of death by about half compared to those who are physically inactive. Swimming works the entire body, with specific benefits including improved cardiovascular health, muscle strength, flexibility, and endurance. It can also promote healthy weight loss.

One of the particular advantages of swimming over other forms of aerobic activity is that the buoyancy of water can reduce stress on muscles and joints, allowing for longer periods of exercise. This can be especially beneficial for people with conditions such as arthritis or those rehabilitating from an injury. Many health experts also particularly recommend swimming and other water-based exercise for older adults because of its low-impact nature and wide-ranging health effects. Furthermore, some studies have indicated that people tend to report more enjoyment of exercise in water than on land. Research has also shown that swimming can benefit mental health, improving people's mood and decreasing anxiety and depression. Such effects have been demonstrated in the general population as well as in specific groups such as pregnant people and children with developmental disorders.

Of course, health professionals note that people should not attempt to swim without proper training. Also, while swimming can often be as relaxing or as strenuous as desired, people should avoid overexerting themselves in any physical activity, especially if inexperienced or after long periods without exercise. It is also important to ensure that conditions are safe before swimming, and it is inadvisable to swim alone, whether in a pool or open water.

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