Human swimming A swimmer performing front crawl

be more hydrodynamic, people can increase the power of the strokes, or reduce water resistance, although increasing power to overcome resistance needs to increase by a factor of three to achieve the same effect as reducing resistance.[6] Efficient swimming by reducing water resistance involves having a horizontal water position, rolling the body in order to reduce the breadth of the body in the water and extending the arms as far as possible in order to reduce wave resistance.[6] Technique See also: List of swimming styles Swimming can be undertaken using a wide range of different styles, known as 'strokes', and these strokes are used for a different purposes, or to distinguish between classes in competitive swimming. It is not necessary to use a defined stroke for propulsion through the water, and untrained swimmers may use a 'doggy paddle' of arm and leg movements which mimics the strokes of quadriped animals such as dogs in the water. There are four main strokes used in competition and recreation swimming, which are front crawl, breaststroke, backstroke and butterfly. Competitive swimming in Europe started around 1800, mostly using breaststroke and in 1873 John Arthur Trudgen introduced the trudgen to Western swimming competitions, after copying the front crawl used by Native Americans, but substituting a scissor kick for the traditional flutter kick in order to reduce splashing. Butterfly was developed in the 1930s and was at first a variant of breaststroke until it was accepted as a separate style in 1952. Other strokes exist for specific purposes, such as training or rescue, and it is also possible to adapt strokes to not use parts of the body, either to isolate certain body parts, such as swimming with arms only or legs only to train them harder, or for use by amputees or those suffering paralysis. Historic record

Human swimming is the self propulsion of a person through water or other liquid, for survival, recreation, sport, exercise or other reason. Locomotion is achieved through co-ordinated movement of the limbs, the body, or both. Humans are able to hold their breath underwater and undertake rudimentary locomotive swimming within weeks of birth, as an evolutionary response.[1] Swimming is consistently found to be amongst the top recreational activities undertaken by the public,[2][3][4][5] and in some countries, swimming lessons are a compulsory part of the educational curriculum. As a formalised sport, swimming features in a range of local, national and international competitions, including featuring in every modern summer Olympics. Physics Swimming relies on the natural buoyancy of the human body, with the relative density of the average body, compared to water, of 0.98, creating a floating effect. This varies on the basis of body composition, with body fat lowering the density, and increasing floatation. The relative density difference means that water supports the body during swimming, and therefore makes swimming low impact compared to surface activities such as running where weight is put on to the joints, and also creates resistance when moving through the water. The resistance is used by swimming strokes to create propulsion, but creates drag on the body. This means that hydrodynamics are an important factor in stroke technique in terms of swimming faster, and swimmers wishing to swim faster, or wishing to tire less will try and reduce the drag caused by the body through the water. In order to

See also: History of swimming Swimming has been recorded since prehistoric times, and the earliest records of swimming date back to Stone Age paintings from around 7,000 years ago. Written references date from 2000 BC. Some of the earliest references include the Epic of Gilgamesh, the Iliad, the Odyssey, the Bible (Ezekiel 47:5, Acts 27:42, Isaiah 25:11), Beowulf, and other sagas. In 1538, Nikolaus Wynmann, a German professor of languages, wrote the first swimming book, The Swimmer or A Dialogue on the Art of Swimming (Der Schwimmer oder ein Zweigesprch ber die Schwimmkunst). Purpose There are many reasons why people swim, from swimming as a recreational pursuit to swimming as a necessary part of a job or other activity. Some people may also be forced in to swimming involuntarily as a result of falling into water. The largest reason for people swimming is as a recreation activity, with swimming consistently ranking as one of the physical activities people are most likely to take part in. Recreational swimming can be used for people to exercise, to relax or to rehabilitate.[7] The support of the water, and the reduction in impact, makes swimming accessible for people who are unable to undertake activities such as running. Swimming is primarily an aerobic exercise due to the long exercise time, requiring a constant oxygen supply to the muscles, except for short sprints where the muscles work anaerobically. As with most aerobic exercise, swimming is believed to reduce the harmful effects of stress. Swimming can also improve posture. Sport Main article: Swimming (sport) Swimming as a sport predominantly involves competition amongst participants to be the fastest over a given distance under self propulsion. Different distances are swum in different levels of competition. For example, swimming has been part of Olympic Swimming since 1896, and the current program contains

events from 100m to 1500m in length, across all four main strokes and medley. The sport is governed internationally by the Fdration Internationale de Natation (FINA), and competition pools for FINA events are 25 or 50 metres in length. There are other swimming and water related sporting disciplines including diving, synchronised swimming and water polo, as well as sports which include a swimming element, such as triathlon and modern pentathlon. Occupation Professional swimmers performing a water ballet in Guardalavaca, Cuba Some occupations require the workers to swim. For example, abalone- or pearl-divers swim and dive to obtain an economic benefit, as do spear fishermen. Swimming is used to rescue people in the water who may be in distress, including tired swimmers, non-swimmers who have accidentally entered the water, or water users who have come to harm. Lifeguards or volunteer lifesavers are deployed at many pools and beaches worldwide to fulfil this purpose, and may use specific swimnming styles for rescue purposes. Swimming is also used in marine biology to observe plants and animals in their natural habitat. Other sciences use swimming, for example Konrad Lorenz swam with geese as part of his studies of animal behavior. Swimming also has military purposes. Military swimming is usually done by special forces, such as Navy SEALs. Swimming is used to approach a location, gather intelligence, sabotage or combat, and to depart a location. This may also include airborne insertion into water or exiting a submarine while it is submerged. Due to regular exposure to large bodies of water, all recruits in the United States Navy, Marine Corps, and

Coast Guard are required to complete basic swimming or water survival training. Swimming is also a professional sport. Companies sponsor swimmers who are at the international level. Many swimmers compete competitively in order to represent their home country in the olympics. Cash awards are also given at many of the major competitions for breaking records.[citation needed] Professional swimmers may also earn a living as entertainers, performing in water ballets.

the prime means of regaining land in accidental situations. Most recorded water deaths fall into these categories:

Locomotion Locomation by swimming over brief distances is frequent when alternatives are precluded. There have been cases of political refugees swimming in the Baltic Sea[8] and of people jumping in the water and swimming ashore from vessels not intended to reach land where they planned to go. [9] Swimming travel is central to the plot of the motion picture "Welcome". US president John F. Kennedy led his sailors swimming island to island after his torpedo boat was sunk in World War II. His senator brother Ted Kennedy claimed to have left Chappaquiddick Island by swimming. Risks A sign warns hikers on the trail to Hanakapiai Beach.There are many risks associated with voluntary or involuntary human presence in water, which may result in death directly or through drowning asphyxiation. Swimming is both the goal of much voluntary presence, and

Panic where the inexperienced swimmer or non swimmer becomes mentally overwhelmed by the circumstances of their immersion, leading to sinking and drowning. Occasionally panic can kill through hyperventilation even in very shallow water. Exhaustion where the person is unable to sustain effort to swim or tread water, often leading to death through drowning.

An adult with fully developed and extended lungs has generally positive or at least neutral buoyancy, and can float with modest effort when calm and in still water. A small child has negative buoyancy and will either sink rapidly or have to make a sustained effort to stay near the surface.

Hypothermia where the person loses critical core temperature, leading to unconsciousness or heart failure. Dehydration from prolonged exposure to hypertonic salt water, less frequently salt water aspiration syndrome where inhaled salt water creates foam in the lungs that restricts breathing.

Hypothermia and dehydration also kill directly, without causing drowning, even when the person wears a life vest.

Blunt trauma in fast moving flood or river water.

Less common are

Other adverse effects: o Exostosis is an abnormal bony overgrowth narrowing the ear canal due to frequent, long-term splashing or filling of cold water into the ear canal, also known as surfer's ear. o Infection due to water-borne bacteria, viruses, or parasites. o Chlorine inhalation (in swimming pools).

Adverse encounters with aquatic life: o Stings from sea lice, jellyfish, fish, sea shells, and some species of coral. o Puncture wounds caused by crabs, lobsters, sea urchins, zebra mussels, stingrays, flying fish, sea birds, and rubbish. o Hemorrhaging bites from fish, marine mammals, and marine reptiles, occasionally resulting from predation. o Venomous bites from sea snakes and certain species of octopus. o Electrocution or mild shock from electric eels and electric rays.

school swimming) are supported by the government. Most schools provide swimming lessons. There is a long tradition of swimming lessons in the Netherlands and Belgium, the Dutch translation for the breaststroke swimming style is even schoolslag (schoolstroke). The children learn a variant of the breaststroke, which is technically not entirely correct. In France, swimming is a compulsory part of the curriculum for primary schools. Children usually spend one semester per year learning swimming during CE1/CE2/CM1 (2nd, 3rd and 4th grade). In many places, swimming lessons are provided by local swimming pools, both those run by the local authority and by private leisure companies. Many schools also include swimming lessons into their Physical Education curricula, provided either in the schools' own pool, or in the nearest public pool. In the UK, the "Top-ups scheme" calls for school children who cannot swim by the age of 11 to receive intensive daily lessons. These children who have not reached Great Britain's National Curriculum standard of swimming 25 metres by the time they leave primary school will be given a half-hour lesson every day for two weeks during term-time.[13] In Canada and Mexico there has been a call for swimming to be included in the public school curriculum.[14] In USA there is the Infant Swimming Resource (ISR)[15] initiative that provides lessons for infant children, to cope with emergency situation when they have fallen into water. They are learned how to roll-back-to-float (hold their breath underwater, to roll onto their back, to float unassisted, rest and breathe until help arrives). Clothing and equipment Swimsuits Standard everyday clothing is usually impractical for swimming and may even be unsafe. Most cultures today expect swimsuits to be worn for public swimming. Modern men's swimsuits are usually briefs, shorts or athletic cut jammers, lycra swim skins,

Around any pool area, safety equipment and supervision by personnel trained in rescue techniques is important. It is required at most competitive swimming meets, and is a zoning requirement for most residential pools in the United States: Lessons A Styrofoam flotation aid being used. Main article: Swimming lessons Children generally do not swim independently until 4 years of age.[11] In Sweden, Denmark, Norway, Estonia and Finland, the curriculum for the fifth grade (fourth grade in Estonia) states that all children should learn how to swim as well as how to handle emergencies near water. Most commonly, children are expected to be able to swim 200 metres (660 ft) of which at least 50 metres (160 ft) on their back after first falling into deep water and getting their head under water. Even though about 95 percent of Swedish school children know how to swim, drowning remains the third most common cause of death among children.[12] In both the Netherlands and Belgium swimming lessons under school time (schoolzwemmen,

lycra/spandex diveskins or diveskin jeans (for protection in open water swimming in ocean or lake environments). They can also be swim trunks, lifeguard trunks or board shorts. Usually, the upper body is left uncovered, or the swimmer wears a rash guard t-shirt or 2mm neoprene top for sun protection. In some third world cultures, custom and/or laws have required tops for public swimming. Modern women's swimsuits are generally skintight, either two pieces covering only the breasts and pelvic region (see bikini), or a single piece covering these areas and the torso between them. Skirts are uncommon, and are usually short when included, but in some cultures they have been required even to the point of a full length skirt being necessary. Competitive swimwear seeks to improve upon bare human skin in order to obtain a speed advantage. For extra speed a swimmer wears a body suit, which has rubber or plastic bumps that break up the water close to the body and provides a small amount of thrustjust barely enough to help a swimmer swim faster.Wetsuits provide both thermal insulation and floatation. Many competitive swimmers, mainly men, lack buoyancy in the leg. A swimming wetsuit has very thin arm neoprene to aid flexibility and thick forelegs. This holds the swimmer in a flatter attitude in the water, and so their streamlining. This construction makes breaststroke rather inefficient (legs too rigid) but is perfect for frontcrawl/freestyle. Accessories

from sunlight that reflects from the bottom of the pool. Swim caps keep the body streamlined and protect the hair from chlorinated water. Swimming floats and swimming boards (kickboards) are used for training or exercise purposes. Kickboards are used to keep the upper body afloat while exercising the lower body. A pull buoy is used to keep the lower body afloat while exercising the upper body. Swimfins are used to elongate the kick and improve technique and speed. Fins also build upper calf muscles. Safety fencing and equipment is mandatory at public pools and a zoning requirement at most residential pools in the United States.[16] Coins

Swimming commemorative coin Swimming events have been selected as a main motif in numerous collectors' coins. One of the recent samples is the 10 Greek Swimming commemorative coin, minted in 2003 to commemorate the 2004 Summer Olympics. On the obverse of this coin a woman swimmer is depicted, preparing to dive from the starting platform, while in the background another woman athlete is just about to dive into the water in a scene from an Archaic bronze statuette. In 2011 the United Kingdom's Royal Mint minted a fifty pence coin depicting a swimmer and another for the triathlon, in preparation for the 2012 Summer Olympics, to be held in London.

Ear plugs can prevent water from getting in the ears. Noseclips can prevent water from getting in the nose. However, this is generally only used for synchronised swimming. Using noseclips in competitive swimming can cause a disadvantage to most swimmers. It is for this reason that noseclips are only used for synchronised swimming and recreational swimming. Goggles protect the eyes from chlorinated water, and can improve underwater visibility. Tinted goggles protect the eyes

FILIPINO SWIMMERS

Jasmine Alkhaldi Ryan Arabejo

Eric Buhain

C
Dionisio Calvo

Daniel Coakley

Enchong Dee

Christine Jacob

Agapito Lozada

Miguel Mendoza Miguel Molina (swimmer)

Gerardo Rosario

Christel Simms

Akiko Thomson

Tefilo Yldefonso