Swimming

 Swimming became organized as an amateur sport in the late 19th cent. in several countries. The English are considered the first modem society to develop swimming as a sport. By 1837, when modern competitive swimming began in London, several indoor pools already existed. Its popularity increased with the development and improvement of the swimming pool, and swimming was part of the first modern Olympic Games (1896).

Although people have swum since ancient times, swimming strokes have been greatly refined in the past 100 years. The four basic strokes are illustrated below:

Butterfly



In the variation of the breaststroke known as the butterfly, both arms are brought forward together over the water and then brought backward simultaneously. The movement of the arms is continuous and is accompained by an undulating movement of the hips. The leg kick, called the dolphin kick, is a whiplike downward motion of the unseparated feet.

Breaststroke



In the breaststroke, the swimmer lies front down, arms pointed straight ahead with palms down, and executes the following sequence of horizontal movements. The arms are swept backward in line with the shoulders, always on or under the surface of the water. The legs are drawn up close to the body, with knees and toes turned out, and are then thrust outward as the arms are brought back to hte starting point-at which the netire cycle begins again. The swimmer exhales underwater. The arm strokes must be lateral, not vertical, an important and much debated point of style in competitive swimming.


Freestyle



In the freestyle (crawl), one of the swimmer's arms moves through the air, the hand turning palm downward ready to catch the water, elbow relaxed, as the other arm pulls under the water. The legs move in what has evolved in recent years as the flutter kick, an alternating up-and-down movement from the hips, legs relaxed, toes pointed, feet turned inward. Four to eight kick strokes per single arm movement are used. Proper breathing is very important in this stroke. One full breath can be taken in each arm cycle, with the swimmer inhaling through the mouth by turning the head to the side as the arm passes, then exhaling underwater as the arm comes forward again.


Backstroke



The backstroke is essentially the crawl stroke but with the swimmer's head back turned to the water. Alternately, one arm is lifted, palm facing outward, from being the leg and is brought up behind the head while the other arm pulls the body through the water. A flutter kick is used.