De Guzman, Sannia Babe P.

BSME-1B

HISTORY OF SWIMMING
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, Fédération
Internationale de Natation (FINA), was formed.
Swimming emerged as a competitive sport in the early 1800s in England. In 1828, the first indoor swimming
pool, St George's Baths, was opened to the public. 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.
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.[ 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 ungentleman-like splashing.[7]

The routes taken by Webb and Bill Burgess across the English Channel, in 1875 and 1911, respectively.
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.
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. 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.

1
 DIFFERENT STROKES IN SWIMMING

Front Crawl/Freestyle Stroke

The front crawl (also often called the freestyle stroke) is the fastest of the competitive swimming
strokes.
Front Crawl is swum in a prone horizontal position (face down).
The arms move continuously and alternately. While one arm pulls underwater from an
extended forward position toward the hip, the other arm recovers above water from the hip to the
forward extended position.
The legs do quick, compact alternate up and down movements, with the feet
pointed (flutter kick).
To breathe, the swimmer turns his head sideways during the arm recovery,
until the mouth is above the water surface. The swimmer inhales quickly, then turns his head down
again.

2
Breaststroke
Breaststroke is the most popular swimming stroke of all.
If you go to a public swimming pool, you will most likely see that the majority of patrons are swimming
breaststroke.
Breaststroke is swum in a prone position. The body goes from a horizontal position during
a short, streamlined glide phase to a more inclined position during arm recovery phase.
The arms movements are simultaneous and symmetrical. During the backward
underwater arm pull, the hands describe an arc, moving from an extended forward position to below
the chest.
During the arm recovery, the hands move from below the chest to the extended forward position in a
straight line.
The legs do a symmetrical whip kick. First, the legs are fully extended at the end of the glide
phase.
The feet then move toward the buttocks during the leg recovery.
Finally, during the propulsive phase of the kick, the feet move outward and backward from the buttocks
and then inward and backward back to the fully outstretched leg position again.
Breathing occurs at the end of the underwater arm pull, when the hands move below
the chest and the head and chest move above the water surface.

3
Butterfly Stroke
The butterfly stroke is the second fastest swimming stroke, and is also quite exhausting to swim.
The butterfly is swum in a prone position. The body executes a wave-like undulation,
where the chest and the hips take turns in moving up and down in the water.
The undulation is initiated at the head, and the chest, hips, and legs successively follow along.
The arm stroke is symmetrical, where the hands trace an hourglass pattern underwater,
moving from an extended forward position to below the chest and then toward the hips.
The hands leave the water at the hips, and the arms circle forward sideways above the water until they
are extended forward again.
The legs do a dolphin kick. They are kept together and move up and down in a symmetrical
fashion with feet pointed.
Breathing occurs during the arm recovery of a breathing stroke cycle, where the head and
chest are lifted above the water to permit breathing.
Most swimmers alternate breathing stroke cycles with non-breathing stroke cycles, as breathing stroke
cycles require more energy to lift the upper body above the water surface.

4
Backstroke
Backstroke is the only one of the four competitive strokes swum on the back.
Backstroke is swum in a horizontal position on the back. The body rolls from
side to side toward the arm currently pulling underwater. The head stays in a
neutral position, face turned up.
The arms alternate pulling in the water and recovering above water.
The pulling arm sweeps underwater from an extended forward position to
outside the shoulder and then toward the hip.

The arm recovery occurs with a straight arm above water. The hand traces
half a circle in the air, moving from the hip to pointing upward at the ceiling to
being extended forward again.

The legs do a flutter kick, where they alternate kicking up and down in quick,
compact movements with the feet pointed.
Because the face is turned upward, breathing is not restricted. However, most
backstroke swimmers synchronize their breathing with their arm movements.

5
Sidestroke
The sidestroke is an older swimming stroke swum on the side. It uses a scissor kick and asymmetrical
underwater arm movements.
Sidestroke is swum in a horizontal position on the side. The swimmer stays on the
same side over the whole stroke cycle.
The head is turned sideways and upward, with the face being above water all the time.
The arms do different movements but move in accord.
In a first phase, the lower arm moves underwater from an extended forward position to the chest,
providing propulsion.
At the same time, the upper arm, which was resting on the side, bends at the elbow and recovers
toward the chest.
The hands meet in front of the chest.
In a second phase, the lower arm recovers underwater to the extended forward position.
At the same time, the upper arm pulls backward in the water, straightening and moving back to the side
of the body.
The legs do a scissor kick. Initially, both legs are straight.
During the recovery, the upper leg bends forward at the hip, while the lower leg bends backward at the
hip. Both legs bend at the knee.
During the propulsive phase, both legs straighten and move back to their initial position.
The upper leg pushes against the water with the back side of the leg, while the lower leg pushes against
the water with the front side of the leg.

6
Elementary Backstroke
Elementary backstroke is a swimming stroke where you swim on the back, using a whip
kick and simple symmetrical underwater arm stroke movements.
The stroke cycle begins with the arm at the sides and the legs straight and drawn together.
The hands move along the sides toward the armpits, then the arms are extended laterally, palms
backward.
Once the arms are extended laterally, they are brought back to the hips, pushing against the water and
providing propulsion.
The legs move at the same time as the arms.
From the initial position, the thighs are spread apart, the knees bend and the feet are drawn to the
buttocks.
In a second phase, the thighs are brought together, the legs straighten and the feet are brought
together.
During this second phase, the inside of the legs and the inner sides of the feet push against the water
and provide propulsion.