The History of Competitive Swimming

Competitive swimming was first introduced in the early 1800’s in Britain by the National Swimming
Society. At that time, there were man-made indoor pools in London and the National Swimming Society
of England used them for swimming competitions. These events became popular in England and led to
the formation of the Amateur Swimming Association in 1880.

The swimming strokes used in this time period were the side stroke and the breast stroke. In 1873 John
Trudgen introduced the front crawl to Britain used with a scissor or flutter kick. This enhanced speeds
and made swimming competitions new and exciting. Improvements to the front crawl, either by different
kicks or different ratios of kicks to strokes, resulted in the fastest swimming style known today, now
called the freestyle stroke.

In 1896 the Olympic Games were held in Greece in the city of Athens. Swimming was included and there
were four swimming contests held. They were: 100 m, 100 m for sailors, the 500 m and the 1200 m
competitions. Hungary’s Alfred Hajos won the first gold medal in the history of swimming in the 100 m
freestyle and the 1200 m race. Paul Neumann from Austria won the 500 m event. A Greek sailor named
Ioannis Malokinis won the 100 m for sailors.

In 1900 the Olympic Games were held in Paris, France and had the 200 m, 1000 m and 4000 m and 200
m backstroke and a 200 m relay race. The Paris Games also had an underwater and a swimming against
the current races. The 4000 m freestyle race was won by British swimmer John Jarvis. The 4000 m event
was the longest swimming competition event ever held in the history of swimming. The backstroke was
used in the Olympics in the sport of water polo, for the first time.

Organizations

Swimming

There is a type of swimming for everyone: from recreational laps to competitive swimming; from the
calm of the public pool to the chaos of the open water. Whether you're an experienced swimmer looking
for the most in-depth information on swimming techniques and swim news, or are a novice wanting to
improve your stroke, the Web has a site for you.

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History of Swimming

The British-born sport of swimming became competitive in the mid-1800s and was part of the first ...
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Where to Swim

Whether you're looking to swim competitively or just want some exercise, you'll need to find a ... read
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Swimming Organizations

Swimming is an international sport, with competitions held all over the world. Learn about these
swimming championships, and keep up with the latest developments in the world of competitive
swimming on the Web sites of these major swimming organizations.

Dulcinea's Insight

For governing bodies not found here, visit Wikipedia's list of swimming organizations.

Dulcinea's Picks

The International Swimming Federation governs aquatic sports, including lap swimming and open-water
swimming. It oversees the aquatic competitions during the Olympics, and governs the biannual FINA
World Championships, which are the most prominent swimming competitions outside of the Olympics.
Its official site has press releases, results, rankings, world records and regulations. It also features
swimmer biographies and video highlights from FINA events, which can be downloaded in WMV format.

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USASwimming.org is the official governing body of American swimming. Its site has weekly features,
including "20 Question Tuesday," an interview with a prominent American swimmer. The archive of race
results is from as far back as 1964, but doesn't offer instantly updated numbers. Those can be found
through "LSC Results Links."

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The Ligue Européenne de Natation is the governing body of European swimming, incorporating 50
national swimming federations. Its site includes historical records, regulations, and links to individual
federations.

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For open-water swimming ...

The Channel Swimming Association is the official governing body of swims across the English Channel. It
sets guidelines and maintains records, both of which can be found on the site. It also includes stories
from swimmers and profiles of Channel-swimming pioneers and record breakers.

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