Changes to the sport

Swimming times have dropped over the years due to bettertraining techniques and to new

developments.

The first four Olympics competitions were not held in pools, but inopen water (1896-

The Mediterranean, 1900- The Seine River,1904- an artificial lake, 1906- The Mediterranean). The 1904 Olympics' freestyle race was the only one ever measured at 100yards,

instead of the usual 100 meters. A 100 meter pool was builtfor the 1908 Olympics and sat in the center of the main stadium'strack and field oval. The 1912 Olympics, held in the Stockholmharbour, marked the beginning of electronic timing.

Male swimmers wore full body suits until the 1940s, which causedmore drag in the water than their modern swim-wear counterparts.Competition suits now include engineered fabric and

designs to reduce swimmers' drag in the water and prevent athlete fatigue. Also, over the years, pool designs have lessened the drag.

Some design considerations allow for the reduction of swimming resistance, making the pool faster. Namely, proper pool depth, elimination of currents,

increased lane width, energy absorbingracing lane lines and gutters, and the use of other

innovative hydraulic, acoustic and illumination designs.

The 1924 Summer Olympics were the first to use the standard 50 meter pool with

marked lanes.

In the freestyle, swimmers originally dove from the pool walls, but diving blocks were

incorporated at the 1936 Summer Olympics. The flip-turn was developed by the 1950s and

goggles first were used in the 1976 Olympics.

There were also changes in the late 20th century in terms oftechnique. Breaststrokers are now allowed to dip their headcompletely under water, which allowed for a longer stroke and

faster time. In addition, a split stroke in the breaststroke start andturns have been added

to help speed up the stroke. Backstrokersare now allowed to turn on their stomachs before the wall in orderto perform a "flip-turn". Previously, they had to reach and flip backwards.

Recreational swimming

The most common purpose for swimming is recreation.Recreational swimming is a good way to relax, while enjoying afull-body workout. Several swimming styles are suitable for recreational swimming; most recreational swimmers prefer a style that keeps their head

out of the water and has an underwater armrecovery.

Breaststroke, side stroke, head up front crawl and dog paddle

are the most common strokes utilized in recreationalswimming, but the out-of-water arm

recovery of freestyle orbutterfly gives rise to better exploitation of the difference inresistance between air and water.

The butterfly stroke, which consists of out-of-water recovery witheven symmetry in body

movements, is most suited to rough waterswimming. For example, in a record-setting

example of endurance swimming,

Vicki Keith crossed the rough waters of Lake Ontariousing butterfly.

Most recreational swimming takes place in swimming pools, and calm natural waters

(sea, lakes, rivers),therefore front crawl is suitable.

Date: 2015-12-18; view: 775