Swimming History:

Competitive swimming in Britain started around 1830, mostly

using breaststroke. Swimming was part of the first modern Olympic games in
1896 in Athens. In 1908, the world swimming association, Fdration
Internationale de Natation (FINA), was formed.

10,000-year-old rock paintings of people swimming were found in the Cave of

Swimmers near Wadi Sura in southwestern Egypt. These pictures seem to
show breaststroke or doggy paddle, although it is also possible that the
movements have a ritual meaning unrelated to swimming. An Egyptian clay
seal dated between 9000 BC and 4000 BC shows four people who are
believed to be swimming a variant of the front crawl.

More references to swimming are found in the Babylonian bas- reliefs

and Assyrian wall drawings, depicting a variant of the breaststroke. The most
famous drawings were found in the Kebir desert and are estimated to be
from around 4000 BC. The Nagoda bas-relief also shows swimmers inside of
men dating back from 3000 BC. The Indian palace Mohenjo Daro from 2800
BC contains a swimming pool sized 30 m by 60 m. The Minoan palace
of Knossos in Crete also featured baths. An Egyptian tomb from 2000
BC shows a variant of front crawl. Depictions of swimmers have also been
found from the Hittites, Minoans and other Middle Eastern civilizations, in
the Tepantitla compound at Teotihuacan, and in mosaics in Pompeii.[1]

Written references date back to ancient times, with the earliest as early as
2000 BC. Such references occur in works like Gilgamesh, the Iliad,
the Odyssey, the Bible (Ezekiel 47:5, Acts 27:42, Isaiah 25:11), Beowulf, and
other sagas, although the style is never described. There are also many
mentions of swimmers in the Vatican, Borgian and Bourbon codices. A series
of reliefs from 850 BC in the Nimrud Gallery of the British Museum shows
swimmers, mostly in military context, often using swimming aids.
The Germanic folklore describes swimming, which was used successfully in
wars against the Romans.[1]

Swimming was initially one of the seven agilities of knights during the Middle
Ages, including swimming with armor. However, as swimming was done in a
state of undress, it became less popular as society became more
conservative in the early Modern period.[2] Leonardo da Vinci made early
sketches of lifebelts. In 1539, Nikolaus Wynmann, a German professor of
languages, wrote the first swimming book Colymbetes. His purpose was to
reduce the dangers of drowning. The book contained a good methodical
approach to learning breaststroke, and mentioned swimming aids such as air
filled cow bladders, reed bundles, and cork belts.[1]

In 1587, Everard Digby also wrote a swimming book, claiming that humans
could swim better than fish.[3] Digby was a Senior Fellow at St. John's College,
Cambridge and was interested in the scientific method. His short treatise, De
arte natandi, was written in Latin and contained over 40 woodcut illustrations
depicting various methods of swimming, including the breaststroke,
backstroke and crawl. Digby regarded the breaststroke as the most useful
form of swimming.[4] In 1603, Emperor Go-Yozei of Japan declared that
schoolchildren should swim.[5]

In 1696, the French author Melchisdech Thvenot wrote The Art of

Swimming, describing a breaststroke very similar to the modern
breaststroke. This book was translated into English and became the standard
reference of swimming for many years to come.[6] In 1739, Guts Muts (also
spelled as Guts Muth) from Schnepfenthal, Germany, wrote Gymnastik fr
die Jugend (Exercise for youth), including a significant portion about
swimming. In 1794, Kanonikus Oronzio de Bernardi of Italy wrote a two
volume book about swimming, including floating practice as a prerequisite
for swimming studies.

In 1798, Guts Muts wrote another book Kleines Lehrbuch der Schwimmkunst
zum Selbstunterricht (Small study book of the art of swimming for self-
study), recommending the use of a "fishing rod" device to aid in the learning
of swimming. His books describe a three-step approach to learning to swim
that is still used today. First, get the student used to the water; second,
practice the swimming movements out of the water; and third, practice the
swimming movements in the water. He believed that swimming is an
essential part of every education.[7] The Haloren, a group of salt makers
in Halle, Germany, greatly advanced swimming through setting a good
example to others by teaching their children to swim at a very early age.

Swimming emerged as a competitive sport in the 1830s in England. In 1828,

the first indoor swimming pool, St George's Baths, was opened to the public.
[7]
By 1837, the National Swimming Society was holding regular swimming
competitions in six artificial swimming pools, built around London. The sport
grew in popularity and by 1880, when the first national governing body,
the Amateur Swimming Association, was formed, there were already over
300 regional clubs in operation across the country.[8]
In 1844 a swimming competition was held in London with the participation of
two Native Americans. The British competitor used the
traditional breaststroke, while the Native Americans swam a variant of the
front crawl, which had been used by people in the Americas for generations,
but was not known to the British. The winning medal went to 'Flying Gull'
who swam the 130-foot length in 30 seconds the Native American
swimming method proved to be a much faster style than the British
breaststroke. The Times of London reported disapprovingly that the Native
American stroke was an unrefined motion with the arms "like a windmill" and
the chaotic and unregulated kicking of the legs. The considerable splashing
that the stroke caused was deemed to be barbaric and "un-European" to the
British gentlemen, who preferred to keep their heads over the water.
Subsequently, the British continued to swim only breaststroke until 1873.
The British did, however, adapt the breaststroke into the speedier sidestroke,
where the swimmer lies to one side; this became the more popular choice by
the late 1840s. In 1895, J. H. Thayers of England swam 100 yards (91 m) in a
record-breaking 1:02.50 using a sidestroke.[7]
Sir John Arthur Trudgen picked up the hand-over stroke from South American
natives he observed swimming on a trip to Buenos Aires. On his return
to England in 1868, he successfully debuted the new stroke in 1873 and won
a local competition in 1875. Although the new stroke was really the
reintroduction of a more intuitive method for swimming, one that had been in
evidence in ancient cultures such as Ancient Assyria, his method
revolutionized the state of competitive swimming his stroke is still regarded
as the most powerful to use today.[9] In his stroke, the arms were brought
forward, alternating, while the body rolled from side to side. The kick was a
scissors kick such as that familiarly used in breaststroke, with one kick for
two arm strokes, although it is believed that the Native Americans had
indeed used a flutter kick. Front crawl variants used different ratios of scissor
kicks to arm strokes, or alternated with a flutter (up-and-down) kick. The
speed of the new stroke was demonstrated by F.V.C. Lane in 1901, swimming
100 yards (91 m) in 1:00.0, an improvement of about ten seconds compared
to the breaststroke record. Due to its speed the Trudgen became very quickly
popular around the world, despite all the ungentle-manlike splashing.[7]

Captain Matthew Webb was the first man to swim the English
Channel (between England and France), in 1875. He used breaststroke,
swimming 21.26 miles (34.21 km) in 21 hours and 45 minutes. His feat was
not replicated or surpassed for the next 36 years, until Bill Burgess made the
crossing in 1911. Other European countries also established swimming
federations; Germany in 1882, France in 1890 and Hungary in 1896. The first
European amateur swimming competitions were in 1889 in Vienna. The
world's first women's swimming championship was held in Scotland in 1892.
[10]

Nancy Edberg popularized women's swimming in Stockholm from 1847. She

made swimming lessons accessible for both genders and later introduced
swimming lessons for women in Denmark and Norway.[11] Her public
swimming exhibitions from 1856 with her students were likely among the
first public exhibitions of women swimming in Europe[11]

In 1897, Capt. Henry Sheffield designed a rescue can or rescue cylinder, now
well known as the lifesaving device. The pointed ends made it slide faster
through the water, although it can cause injuries.

The Olympic Games were held in 1896 in Athens, a male-only competition.

Six events were planned for the swimming competition, but only four events
were actually contested: 100 m, 500 m, and 1200 m freestyle and 100 m for
sailors. The first gold medal was won by Alfrd Hajs of Hungary in the
100 m freestyle. Hajs was also victorious in the 1200 m event, and was
unable to compete in the 500 m, which was won by Austrian Paul Neumann.

The second Olympic games in Paris in 1900 featured 200 m, 1000 m, and
4000 m freestyle, 200 m backstroke, and a 200 m team race (see
also Swimming at the 1900 Summer Olympics). There were two additional
unusual swimming events (although common at the time): an obstacle
swimming course in the Seine river (swimming with the current), and an
underwater swimming race. The 4000 m freestyle was won by John Arthur
Jarvis in under one hour, the longest Olympic swimming race until the 10k
marathon swim was introduced in 2008. The backstroke was also introduced
to the Olympic Games in Paris, as was water polo. The Osborne Swimming
Club from Manchester beat club teams from Belgium, France and Germany
quite easily.

The Trudgen stroke was improved by Australian-born Richmond Cavill. Cavill,

whose father Frederick Cavill narrowly failed to swim the English Channel, is
credited with developing the stroke after observing a young boy from
the Solomon Islands. Cavill and his brothers spread the Australian crawl to
England, New Zealand and America. Richmond used this stroke in 1902 at an
International Championships in England to set a new world record by out
swimming all Trudgen swimmers over the 100 yards (91 m) in 0:58.4[12]
The Olympics in 1904 in St. Louis included races over 50 yards (46 m), 100
yards, 220 yards (200 m), 440 yards, 880 yards (800 m) and one mile
(1.6 km) freestyle, 100 yards (91 m) backstroke and 440 yards (400 m)
breaststroke, and the 4x50 yards freestyle relay (see also Swimming at the
1904 Summer Olympics). These games differentiated between breaststroke
and freestyle, so that there were now two defined styles (breaststroke and
backstroke) and freestyle, where most people swam Trudgen. These games
also featured a competition to plunge for distance, where the distance
without swimming, after jumping in a pool, was measured.

In 1908, the world swimming association Fdration Internationale de

Natation Amateur (FINA) was formed.

Women were first allowed to swim in the 1912 Summer

Olympics in Stockholm, competing in freestyle races. In the 1912
games, Harry Hebner of the United States won the 100 m backstroke. At
these games Duke Kahanamoku from Hawaii won the 100 m freestyle,
having learned the six kicks per cycle front crawl from older natives of his
island. This style is now considered the classical front crawl style. The men's
competitions were 100 m, 400 m, and 1500 m freestyle, 100 m backstroke,
200 m and 400 m breaststroke, and four by 200 m freestyle relay. The
women's competitions were 100 m freestyle and four by 100 m freestyle
relay.

The Deutsche Lebens-Rettungs-Gesellschaft (DLRG) (German lifesaving

organization) was established on October 19, 1913 in Leipzig after 17 people
drowned while trying to board the cruise steamer Kronprinz Wilhelm. In the
same year the first elastic swimsuit was made by the sweater
company Jantzen.

In 1922, Johnny Weissmuller became the first person to swim the 100 m in
less than a minute, using a six kicks per cycle Australian crawl. Johnny
Weissmuller started the golden age of swimming, winning five Olympic
medals and 36 national championships and never losing a race in his ten-
year career, until he retired from swimming and started his second career
starring as Tarzan in film. His record of 51 seconds in 100-yard (91 m)
freestyle stood for over 17 years. In the same year, Sybil Bauer was the first
woman to break a men's world record over the 440 m backstroke in 6:24.8.
At the 1924 Summer Olympics in Paris, lane dividers made of cork were used
for the first time, and lines on the pool bottom aided with orientation.

The scientific study of swimming began in 1928 with David Armbruster, a

coach at the University of Iowa, who filmed swimmers underwater.[citation
needed]
The Japanese also used underwater photography to research the stroke
mechanics, and subsequently dominated the 1932 Summer Olympics.
Armbruster also researched a problem of breaststroke where the swimmer
was slowed down significantly while bringing the arms forward underwater.
In 1934 Armbruster refined a method to bring the arms forward over water in
breaststroke. While this "butterfly" technique was difficult, it brought a great
improvement in speed. One year later, in 1935, Jack Sieg, a swimmer also
from the University of Iowa developed a technique involving swimming on his
side and beating his legs in unison similar to a fish tail, and modified the
technique afterward to swim it face down. Armbruster and Sieg combined
these techniques into a variant of the breaststroke called butterfly with the
two kicks per cycle being called dolphin fishtail kick. Using this technique
Sieg swam 100 yards (91 m) in 1:00.2. However, even though this technique
was much faster than regular breaststroke, the dolphin fishtail kick violated
the rules and was not allowed. Therefore, the butterfly arms with a
breaststroke kick were used by a few swimmers in the 1936 Summer
Olympics in Berlin for the breaststroke competitions. In 1938, almost every
breaststroke swimmer was using this butterfly style, yet this stroke was
considered a variant of the breaststroke until 1952, when it was accepted as
a separate style with a set of rules.

Around that time another modification to the backstroke became popular.

Previously, the arms were held straight during the underwater push phase,
for example by the top backstroke swimmer from 1935 to 1945, Adolph
Kiefer. However, Australian swimmers developed a technique where the
arms are bent under water, increasing the horizontal push and the resulting
speed and reducing the wasted force upward and sideways. This style is now
generally used worldwide.

In 1935 topless swimsuits for men were worn for the first time during an
official competition. In 1943, the US ordered the reduction of fabric in
swimsuits by 10% due to wartime shortages, resulting in the first two piece
swimsuits. Shortly afterwards the bikini was invented in Paris by Louis
Reard (officially) or Jacques Heim (earlier, but slightly larger).
Another modification was developed for breaststroke. In breaststroke,
breaking the water surface increases the friction, reducing the speed of the
swimmer. Therefore, swimming underwater increases the speed. This led to a
controversy at the 1956 Summer Olympics in Melbourne, and six swimmers
were disqualified as they repeatedly swam long distances underwater
between surfacing to breathe. The rule was changed to require breaststroke
to be swum at the surface starting with the first surfacing after the start and
after each turn. However, one Japanese swimmer, Masaru Furukawa,
circumvented the rule by not surfacing at all after the start, but swimming as
much of the lane under water as possible before breaking the surface. He
swam all but 5 m under water for the first three 50 m laps, and also swam
half under water for the last lap, winning the gold medal. The adoption of this
technique led to many swimmers suffering from oxygen starvation or even
some swimmers passing out during the race due to a lack of air, and a new
breaststroke rule was introduced by FINA, additionally limiting the distance
that can be swum under water after the start and every turn, and requiring
the head to break the surface every cycle. The 1956 Games in Melbourne
also saw the introduction of the flip turn, a sort of tumble turn to faster
change directions at the end of the lane.

In 1972, another famous swimmer, Mark Spitz, was at the height of his
career. During the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich, Germany, he won
seven gold medals. Shortly thereafter in 1973, the first swimming world
championship was held in Belgrade, Yugoslavia by the FINA.

Breaking the water surface reduces the speed in swimming. The

swimmers Daichi Suzuki (Japan) and David Berkoff (America) used this for
the 100 m backstroke at the 1988 Summer Olympics in Seoul. Berkoff swam
33 m of the first lane completely underwater using only a dolphin kick, far
ahead of his competition. A sports commentator called this a Berkoff
Blastoff. Suzuki, having practiced the underwater technique for 10 years,
surfaced only a little bit earlier, winning the race in 55.05. At that time, this
was not restricted by FINA backstroke rules. The backstroke rules were
quickly changed in the same year by the FINA to ensure the health and
safety of the swimmers, limiting the underwater phase after the start to ten
meters, which was expanded to 15 m in 1991. In Seoul, Kristin Otto from East
Germany won six gold medals, the most ever won by a woman.

Another innovation is the use of flip turns for backstroke. According to the
rules, a backstroke swimmer had to touch the wall while lying less than
 90 degrees out of the horizontal. Some swimmers discovered that they could
turn faster if they rolled almost 90 degrees sideways, touched the wall, and
made a forward tumble turn, pushing off the wall on their backs. The FINA
has changed the rules to allow the swimmers to turn over completely before
touching the wall to simplify this turn and to improve the speed of the races.

Similarly, the dolphin-kick underwater swimming technique is now also used

for butterfly. Consequently, in 1998 FINA introduced a rule limiting swimmers
to 15 meters underwater per lap before they must surface. After underwater
swimming for freestyle and backstroke, the underwater swimming technique
is now also used for butterfly, for example by Denis Pankratov (Russia)
or Angela Kennedy (Australia), swimming large distances underwater with a
dolphin kick. FINA is again considering a rule change for safety reasons. It is
faster to do butterfly kick underwater for the first few meters off the wall
than swimming at the surface. In 2005, FINA declared that you may take 1
underwater dolphin kick in the motion of a breaststroke pull-out.

Sophisticated bodyskins were banned from FINA competitions from the start
of 2010 after many national swimming federations demanded the action, and
leading athletes such as Michael Phelps and Rebecca Adlington criticized the
suits.[13]

Terms and concept

A Stroke - Your best stroke, often FC, but can be others

Aerobic Longer distance, moderate intensity, short rest period swimming sets
that focus on building endurance

Anaerobic - Shorter distance, high intensity, long rest period swimming sets
that focus on building power

Ascending - Getting slower (i.e. the time taken increases)

Back - Backcrawl

Backstroke - Backcrawl

BBM - Beats Below Maximum (Heart Rate).

 BC - Backcrawl or Backstroke or Back

BPM - Beats Per Minute (Heart Rate)

BR - Breaststroke sometimes also BS or Breast

Breast - Breaststroke

BS - Can be Breaststroke or Backstroke check context!

Catch-up - Drill where on FC one hand stays at full stretch ahead until the
other meets it then it begins the stroke

Descending - Getting faster (i.e. the time taken reduces)

Dive Start - Diving entry from the blocks in the deep end (usually either a grab
start or a track start)

Dolphin Kick - Simultaneous leg kick used in Butterfly

DPS - Distance Per Stroke

Drag - Drill where on FC fingertips drag through the water on the recovery (also
known as trickle)

Drill - A controlled form of stroke designed to draw attention to a particular

aspect of that stroke: Catch-Up , Drag, Salute, Elbows High, Zip-up, Doggy Paddle,
Duck, and many more

Duck- Drill where you keep the elbows tight to your sides and move the
forearms back and forth (like duck legs) to propel yourself through water

Easy - Usually swim down or warm up, a slow easy stroke focusing on stretching
out the stroke and warming up or down.

Elbows High - Drill where as it sounds on FC you keep the elbows bent and high
out of the water on the recovery

FC - Frontcrawl often referred to as Freestyle or Free

Fly - Butterfly occasionally BF

FR - Freestyle or Free (normally Frontcrawl, but any stroke will do as long as

you can maintain speed)
 Free - Freestyle - normally Frontcrawl, but any stroke will do as long as you can
maintain speed

Freestyle - Normally Frontcrawl, but any stroke will do as long as you can
maintain speed

Gala - Competition (also called a Meet)

Go off - Time in which you have to complete a swim or set of repeat

distance/times inclusive of rest time

Grab Start - A type of Dive Start. Can also refer to starting from in the pool
holding onto the side

HR - Heart rate

HRT - Heart Rate

HVO - High Velocity Overload Swim part of the length (no more than 15m) at
full speed without breathing, rest of the set distance swim easy

IM - Individual Medley (all four strokes together in order Butterfly, Backstroke,

Breaststroke and Frontcrawl)

Intensity - Run on a scale from 10 20 with 10 being easy and 20 being as hard
as it gets

Kick - Legs only (no pulling)

Kickboard - A flat float used for doing kick

Lactate Lactic acid is produced in the muscles during anaerobic sets. Swim
down & stretching help disperse lactate.

Long Course - 50m pool (term used for describing competitions)

m (e.g.25m) - Metres Our training pools are generally 25 metres so 50 metres

is 2 lengths, 100m 4 lengths, 200m 8 lengths, 300m - 12 lengths and 400m 16
lengths. The ULU pool is 33 metres, so 100m 3 lengths etc.

Masters - Name used for our category of adult swimming at Meets

Medley - All four strokes swum in a specified order

Medley Order - Butterfly, Back, Breast, Free, Medley Relay Order is always
Back, Breast, Fly, Free
 Meet - Competition (also called a Gala)

Negative Split - Go faster for the second half of the set distance than the first
half

Number 1 - Your best stroke, often FC, but can be others.

Open Turn - The two handed touch turn completed for Breaststroke and
Butterfly

PB - Personal Best - this is your best time to date for a particular stroke and
distance, remember that long course (50m) times will be slower than short course
(25m) so you will have pb's for each

Percentages - Usually refers to the effort or pace being completed for that
swim set. i.e. 80% is pretty hard but not maximum effort or sprint.

Pull - Arms only (no kicking)

Pull Buoy - The figure of eight style float that goes between your legs for pull

Recovery - On FC when the arm is out of the water being brought back up for
the next stroke. Can also be a recovery swim when you slow down to bring the HRT
down after a high intensity set

Regeneration - A set where you swim to regenerate after an intense

competition

RI - Rest Interval - How much rest (usually in seconds) you get after a set swim
e.g. 8 x 50m FR RI 20s (20 seconds rest after each 50 metres Freestyle) - sometimes
also called simply Interval

RPE - Rate of Perceived Exertion

Salute - Drill where the hand touches head prior to entry on FC

Set - A self-contained part of the swimming session as set by the coach e.g. a
main set might be 10 x 100m free

Short Course - 25m pool (term used for describing competitions)

Sprint - All out as fast as you can go, breathing as little as you can.

Steady - Swimming at a pace which is easily maintained (not easy or too hard,
aiming for consistency of pace)
 Streamline - Underwater body position after diving or pushing off the wall
which maximises swim speed and efficiency

Stroke - The stroke you are completing (usually not FC)

Stroke Count - Number of strokes per 25m or 50m (FC and BC every 2 arm pulls
- a cycle - BR and Fly every stroke) abbreviated as SC

Stroke Rate - Number of strokes per minute (measured by stopwatch or

calculation) abbreviated as SR

Swim Down - Swimming slowly and steadily at the end of the session to warm
down

Track Start - A type of Dive Start

Tumble turn - The flip (somersault style) turn used for Frontcrawl and
Backcrawl

Turnaround - How much time it is expected to complete a set swim e.g. 4 x

200m FR on 3.00 (You have 3 minutes to complete each 200 metres - if you do it in
2m50s you have 10s rest)

U/W - Underwater (usually refers to kicking, using Dolphin kick)