Swimming has been in practice since the early 2500 BCE.The history of swimming was believed to date back to the first century BCE. However, Egyptian Cave Paintings of 2500 BCE revealed that swimming has been in practice since the stone age.However, swimming became an official sport only in the 18th century, and swimming was introduced as a competitive recreational activity in England. St. George’s Baths - the first indoor swimming pool - was opened to the public in 1828. The National Swimming Society, which was formed in Britain, has played a key role in developing swimming races in Great Britain and spreading this sport in the western world.The first ever swimming championship was held in Australia. This race became an annual event. In 1837 swimming competitions were being held by the National Swimming Society in artificial pools near London. Today 166 nations compete for the gold in swimming at the Olympics.It was Benjamin Franklin who invented swim fins to move through the water more efficiently. It was in 1975 when the White House got its first outdoor swimming pool. Did you know that the first heated swimming pool was built by a Roman emperor in the first century?Did you know the first ever swimming goggles were actually made from tortoise shells? Did you know free divers can hold their breath for more than 10 minutes and the world record for longest breath-holding is 22 minutes?Swimming is a vigorous sport that helps in improving balance, coordination, posture, heart health, and lung health. Freestyle swimming improves full control of breath and muscle strength. Did you know just one hour of swimming burns about 400 calories? In fact, swimming burns 30% more calories than running. Read on to discover more amazing facts.When you have finished this article, check out these fun fact articles on how to breathe underwater and 1896 Olympics facts.Summary: Olympic SwimmingSwimming was introduced as a competitive sport in the Olympic Games in 1896. However, women’s events were introduced in the Olympic Games in the year 1912.Swimming was introduced in the Paralympic Games in the year 1960. In the 1896 inaugural Olympic events included 100 m freestyle for sailors.There are four strokes in swimming - front crawl, backstroke, breaststroke, and butterfly stroke. Did you know breaststroke is the oldest of these swimming strokes? But it was the front crawl that was first used in competitions.Freestyle is where both the arms and legs are used. Richmond Cavill, an Australian, introduced the freestyle in 1902. It is commonly used for competitions. The second was the backstroke which was popularized by Harry Hebner. The first backstroke competition was the 1900 Paris Olympics men’s 200 m race.The butterfly stroke is the hardest of all four. However, the peak speed of butterfly stroke is faster than front crawl. In butterfly stroke, the chest is used to move forwards; the arms move symmetrically, accompanied by the dolphin or butterfly kick. In backstroke, swimmers swim on their back, making breathing easier. Backstrokes were popularized by Harry Hebner. Breaststroke is the most popular of all styles.The competition has undergone tectonic transformations. Earlier, the competition was held in open water, which meant the swimmers had to face the harsh conditions of weather and waves.But in 1908, a 328 ft (100 m) pool was built in the main stadium in London. Since then swimming competitions have been held in a swimming pool. Also, the first time electrical timing was used was in 1912, in Stockholm.The Olympic pool is 164 ft (50 m) long and is divided into eight lanes. A total of 17 Olympic swimming events are organized per gender. The mixed medley relay races were introduced in the 2020 Tokyo games. In this, two men and two women swimmers per country compete in the race. Also, in the 2020 Tokyo games, more than half of the recorded times were faster than the previous competitions.The Olympic pool designs, too, saw great changes. The introduction of proper pool depth, draining, racing lines that absorb energy, elimination of waves and currents, increasing lane width, and marked lanes resulted in a better standard of competition.Federation Internationale de Natation (FINA) was formed in 1908. It is the World Swimming Association and hosts the swimming world championships.Up till the ’40s, male swimmers wore full-body swimsuits.The speed of an average swimmer is approximately 2 mph (3.21 kph). This means it would take about 56 seconds to swim a pool length of 164 ft (50 m). Compare this to Michael Phelps, the winner of many swimming gold medals who swims at 6 mph (9.65 kph).Long Course Swimming Vs. Short Course SwimmingChampionship pools are 164 ft (50 m) long and 82 ft (25 m) wide. They have 10 lanes that are marked zero to nine. The lanes are each 8.2 ft (2.5 m) wide.These pools have starting blocks at both ends and automatic officiating equipment that helps record time and determine the legality of a race. The swimming pool should also have a depth of at least 6.5 ft (2 m). These pools are known as long course pools.On the other hand, short course pools are about 82 ft (25 m) long and have six to eight lanes. Since the short course pools are 82 ft (25 m), swimmers have to do more laps and turns. Hence, starts are very important as there is not much distance to catch up.Marathon SwimmingMarathon swimming is a type of open water swimming but stands out due to the long distances that need to be covered.This distance is at least 6.21 mi (10 km). The first man to swim the English Channel was Captain Matthew Webb in 1875. He used the breaststroke for swimming the 21.26 mi (24.21 km). This was one of the earliest records of marathon swimming.In 1926, Gertrude Ederle became the first woman to swim the same distance at the age of 19 years. She used the crawl stroke, a part of freestyle, to accomplish this feat.The three well-known marathon swims are The English Channel which is 21 mi (34 km), the stretch between Catalina Island and mainland Southern California, 20.1 mi (32.3 km), and around Manhattan Island, a distance of 28.5 mi (45.9 km).Championships: Olympic SwimmingThe very first gold medal for the 1896 Olympic competition went to a Hungarian swimmer named Alfred Hajos. He earned gold medals in 100 m and 1200 m freestyle events.The greatest of all time, Michael Phelps is one swimmer who holds the world record of winning 28 medals in Olympics’ swimming competitions, it is, of course, the highest number anyone has been able to reach yet.Katie Ledecky is the greatest women swimmer with a record of seven Olympic golds and 15 world championships, the most in the history of women swimmers.However, it was Fanny Durack who won the first gold medal in swimming (women’s category). Women weren’t allowed till 1912. Durack rebelled against society and wore the suit for 100 m freestyle.Did you know that world’s oldest swimmer is a woman from Japan? Mieko Nagaoka finished the 1500 m freestyle swam at the age of 90 and made her name into the world records.Did you know there were only three swimming pools in the whole of Japan until Yoshiyuki Tsuruta brought home the Olympic gold?For this competition, athletes undergo a training exercise form known as tapering. This is a cycle of training that overloads the body with exercise in the beginning and middle, but then before the event, the exercise is decreased.To reduce drag and have a more hydrodynamic feel in the water, competitive swimmers also need to shave all exposed areas of their bodies. This is known as shave and taper.To become an Olympic swimmer, you need to sign up for swim lessons and practice every day. Joining a local swim team or a swimming club would be useful. These teams usually allow members to compete with others based on age, skill, and speed. These teams also have competitive swimming for novices as well as those that are advanced or experts. You can also hire a private coach.You must also learn and know the rules of USA Swimming, the national governing body for this sport in America, and the rules of FINA, the international body that governs swimming. The FINA rules are also used in the Olympic games.Here at Kidadl, we have carefully created lots of interesting family-friendly facts for everyone to enjoy! If you liked our suggestion for Olympic swimming facts, then why not take a look at 2012 Olympics facts or 1936 facts.
Swimming has been in practice since the early 2500 BCE.
