History of Swimming

Swimming Swimming has been recorded since prehistoric times; the earliest recording of swimming dates back to Stone Age paintings from around 7,000 years ago. Written references date from 2000 BC. Some of the earliest references to swimming include the Gilgamesh, the Iliad, the Odyssey, the Bible, Beowulf, and other sagas. In 1578, Nikolaus Wynmann, a German professor of languages, wrote the first swimming book, The Swimmer or A Dialogue on the Art of Swimming. Competitive swimming in Europe started around 1800, mostly using breaststroke. In 1873, John Arthur Trudgen introduced the trudgen to Western swimming competitions, after copying the front crawl used by Native Americans. Due to a British disregard for splashing, Trudgen employed a scissor kick instead of the front crawl's flutter kick. Swimming was part of the first modern Olympic games in 1896 in Athens. In 1902 Richard Cavill introduced the front crawl to the Western world. In 1908, the world swimming association, Fédération Internationale de Natation (FINA), was formed. Butterfly was developed in the 1930s and was at first a variant of breaststroke, until it was accepted as a separate style in 1952. In 1896, swimming became an Olympic sport for men with the 100 meters and 1500 meters freestyle competitions held in open water. Soon after, as swimming gained popularity, more freestyle events were included, followed by the backstroke, butterfly, breaststroke, and lastly, the individual medley. Medley is a combination of four different swimming styles into one race. This race is either swum by one swimmer as individual medley (IM) or by four swimmers as a medley relay. Human swimming typically consists of repeating a specific body motion or swimming stroke. There are many kinds of strokes, each defining a different swimming style or crawl. Snorkeling: Swimming on the breast using a snorkel, usually in combination with masks and fins. Any stroke on the breast can be used, and there is no need to lift or turn the head for breathing. Most strokes involve rhythmic and coordinated movements of all major body parts — torso, arms, legs, hands, feet, and head. Breathing typically must be synchronized with the strokes, too. It is possible however to swim by moving only legs without arms or only arms without legs; such by strokes may be amputees used for special purposes, (paralympians) for training and or exercise, or paralytics. The sport has evolved to a very competitive and fun sport for anyone. That has always been the great appeal that anyone can swim and we have been for the past 3000 years…So goes the history of swimming. 1. Breaststroke is a swimming style in which the swimmer is on his or her chest and the torso does not rotate. It is the most popular recreational style due to its stability and the ability to keep the head out of the water a large portion of the time. In most swimming classes, beginners learn either the breaststroke or the front crawl first. But in competitive swimming, the breaststroke is regarded as one of the most difficult strokes, requiring comparable endurance and leg strength to other strokes. 2. The butterfly (colloquially among swimmers known as fly) is a swimming stroke swum on the breast, with both arms moving simultaneously. The butterfly kick was developed separately, and is also known as the "dolphin kick". While other styles like the breaststroke, front crawl, or backstroke can be swum easily even by beginners, the butterfly requires very good technique to be feasible. Many students[citation needed] consider it the most difficult style of swimming. It is the newest swimming style swum in competition, first swum in 1933. 3. The backstroke, also sometimes called the back crawl, is one of the four swimming styles regulated by FINA, and the only regulated style swum on the back. This has the advantage of easy breathing, but the disadvantage of swimmers not being able to see where they are going. It is also the only competition swimming style that starts in the water. The swimming style is similar to an upside down front crawl. Both backstroke and front crawl are long-axis strokes. 4. Freestyle, also known as Front Crawl, is the fastest swimming stroke in which you swim from side to side with your head ideally down as you set up a high catch with your arms reaching out front alternatively and as you create propulsions with your up and down or flutter kick movements. Gliding-The swimmer is stretched with the arms to the front, the head between the arms and the feet to the back. This streamlined shape minimizes resistance and allows the swimmer to glide, for example after a start, a push off from a wall, or to rest between strokes. Bubbling - inhaling air out from the water, exhaling air when in the water as producing bubbles in the water. Materials in Swimming Swim Cap Swim cap prevents your hair from heading towards your eyes. Swim caps are usually made up of plastic or rubber. Remember to dry your cap properly after usage and sprinkle some talc on it. A swim cap, or bathing cap, is a silicone, latex or lycra cap worn on the head by recreational and competitive swimmers. Caps are worn for various reasons. Some facilities require the wearing of swim caps, in order to protect filters from becoming clogged with loose hairs which fall from the scalp of swimmers who are not wearing a cap. Caps are also sometimes worn in an attempt to keep the hair relatively dry or free from chlorinated water, to keep the sun off of the hair, and also, when a cap is worn with ear plugs, in order to keep water out of the ears. Googles Goggles are essential parts of swimming accessory. You have to choose these carefully, for a wrong choice lead to problems in future, regarding which you might have to repent. Goggles' role is to keep the water out of your eyes. Never compromise on quality and try out different pairs to find which one is right for your eyes.