Swimming describes any method by which living creatures move themselves through water apart from walking on the bottom. The most common reason for swimming is probably recreation, where the swimmer enters the water merely for enjoyment. Swimming is a good way to relax, with many swimming styles suitable for recreational swimming. Most recreational swimmers prefer a style that keeps their head out of the water and uses an underwater arm recovery. Swimming is also a good form of exercise. Because the density of the human body is approximately similar to that of water, the body is supported by the water and therefore less stress is placed on joints and bones. Furthermore, the resistance against movement depends heavily on the speed of the movement, allowing the fine tuning of the exercise according to one's ability. For this reason swimming is frequently used as an exercise in rehabilitation after injuries or for the disabled. Swimming developed as a competitive sport in the 19th century and was part of the first modern Olympic games in 1896 in Athens. In 1908, a world swimming association, the Federation Internationale de Natation was established to regulate international competition.
Swimming has been known since prehistoric times. Drawings from the Stone Age were found in "the cave of swimmers" near Wadi Sora (or Sura) in the southwestern part of Egypt. Written references date from 2000 B.C., including Gilgamesh, the Iliad, the Odyssey, the Bible (Ezekiel 47:5, Acts 27:42, Isaiah 25:11), Beowulf, and other sagas. In 1538 Nicolas Wynman, German professor of languages, wrote the first swimming book, Colymbetes. Competitive swimming in Europe started around 1800, mostly using breaststroke. The front crawl, then called the trudgen, was introduced in 1873 by John Arthur Trudgen, copying it from Native Americans. Swimming was part of the first modern Olympic games in 1896 in Athens.
Duke Paoa Kahinu Mokoe Hulikohola Kahanamoku ( August 24, 1890 – January 22, 1968), " The Big Kahuna", is generally regarded as the inventor of the modern sport of surfing. He was also an Olympic champion in swimming. In his youth, Kahanamoku preferred an old-school (traditional) surf board, which he called his "papa nui", constructed after the fashion of ancient Hawaiian "olo" boards. Made from the wood of a koa tree, it was sixteen feet (4.8 m) long and weighed 114 pounds (52 kg). The board was without a skeg, which had yet to be invented. In his later career, he would often use smaller boards, but always preferred those made of wood. On August 11, 1911, in an amateur swim meet, Kahanamoku was timed at 55.4 seconds in the 100 yard (91 m) freestyle, beating the existing world record by 4.6 seconds, in the salt water of Honolulu Harbor. He also broke the record in the 220 yd (201 m) and equaled it in the 50 yd (46 m), but the Amateur Athletic Union, in disbelief, would not recognize these feats until many years later.
Ian James Thorpe OAM (born October 13, 1982), also known as the Thorpedo, is an Australian swimmer who, after winning the 200 and 400 metre freestyle races at the 2004 Olympics in Athens, became known as one of the greatest middle-distance swimmers of all time. He has won five Olympic gold medals, more than any other Australian.
I wouldn't say anything is impossible. I think that everything is possible as long as you put your mind to it and put the work and time into it - Michael Phelps
...that the Butterfly stroke was introduced as a separate stroke in 1952 because a loophole in the Breaststroke rules allowed the butterfly to be used, thus threatening the extinction of the classical breaststroke action?
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