Swimming

What is swimming?

•  Swimming is the action or activity of

making progress unsupported through
water using the arms and legs, whether for
pleasure, exercise, or sport. It is said that
you burn 700 calories in an hour when
swimming.
Swimming Strokes
• What is a Swimming Stroke?
• A swimming stroke is a method of 
moving the arms and legs to push 
against the water and propel the 
swimmer forward.
 Types of Strokes
• Butterfly
• Side Stroke
• Breaststroke
• Backstroke
• Crawl
• Trudgen
• Dog Paddle
• Freestyle
 Butterfly Stroke
• The most difficult and exhausting stroke.
• The body is in a prone position.
• Involves the dolphin kick with a windmill-
like movement of both arms in unison.
 Sidestroke
–Involves a forward underwater
stroke with the body on one side
and a scissors kick.
 Breaststroke
• The body is in a prone position.
• Involves frog kicking alternates with a
simultaneous movement of the arms from
a point in front of the head to shoulder
level.
 Backstroke
• Involves alternate over-the-head arm
strokes and a flutter kick in a supine
position.
• When swimming competitively, only 15
meters can be spent underwater from the
start or from each turn.
 Crawl
• Front or Back
• The body is in a prone position.
• Involves alternating over arm strokes and
the flutter kick.
 Trudgen

• Involves alternate
over arm strokes in a
prone position, with a
scissors kick and the
head remains on one
side.
 Dog Paddle
– One of the most simple strokes.
– Involves reaching forward with the arms
underwater and using a modified flutter kick.

Freestyle
– Swimming where any stroke is used.
– When swimming competitively, only 15 meters
can be spent underwater from the start or
from each turn.
 Famous Male Swimmers
• Michael Phelps - USA- world record holder for 200 m
butterfly LC, 200 m IM LC, 400 m IM LC, 4×100 m
freestyle relay LC,4×200 m freestyle relay LC, 4×100
m medley relay LC
• Ryan Lotche - USA- world record holder for 200 m
backstroke LC,4×200 m freestyle relay LC,100 m
backstroke SC, 100 m IM SC,200 m IM SC,4×100 m
freestyle relay SC
• Grant Hackett - Australia- world record holder for 800
m freestyle LC, 1500 m freestyle LC, 400 m freestyle
SC, 800 m freestyle SC,1500 m freestyle SC, 4×200
m freestyle relay SC
 Famous Female
Swimmers
• Lisbeth Trickett - Australia- world record holder
for 50 m freestyle LC, 100 m freestyle LC, 4×100
m medley relay LC, 100 m freestyle SC, 200 m
freestyle SC, 100 m butterfly SC
• Kirsty Coventry - Zimbabwe- world record holder
for 100 m backstroke LC, 200 m backstroke LC
200 m backstroke SC, 200 m IM SC,400 m IM
SC
• Leisel Jones - Australia- world record holder for
100 m breaststroke LC, 4×100 m medley relay
LC, 100 m breaststroke SC, 200 m breaststroke
SC
Materials used in competitiv
swimming;
Swimming cap
Swimming googles
Body tights
Ankle Holds
Wrist holds
 Olympic Swimming
• There are 10 lanes but 8 are used to swim
in the Olympics so that there would be no
one swimming near the wall.
 Long Distance Swimming
• Matthew Webb was the first person to swim across
the English channel without any artificial aid. His
time was 21 hours and 45 minutes.
• The first woman to swim the English Channel was
19-year old American Gertrude Ederle. On 6 August
1926 she crossed the English Channel in 14 hours
and 31 minutes.
• Guy Delage was the first person to swim across the
Atlantic Ocean with the help of a kick board.
• Benoît Lecomte was the first man to swim across
the Atlantic without a kick board in 1998.