Freestyle Swimmer
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Freestyle is a category of swimming competition, defined by the rules of
World Aquatics World Aquatics, formerly known as FINA (; ), is the international federation recognised by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) for administering international competitions in List of water sports, water sports. It is one of several interna ...
, in which competitors are subject to only a few limited restrictions on their
swimming stroke Human swimming typically consists of repeating a specific body motion or swimming stroke to propel the body forward. There are many kinds of strokes, each defining a different swimming style or crawl. In high school, collegiate, and Olympic swim ...
. Freestyle races are the most common of all swimming competitions, with distances beginning with and reaching , also known as the mile. The term 'freestyle stroke' is sometimes used as a synonym for '
front crawl The front crawl or forward crawl, also known as the Australian crawl or American crawl, is a swimming stroke usually regarded as the fastest of the four front primary strokes. As such, the front crawl stroke is almost universally used during a ...
', as front crawl is the fastest surface swimming stroke. It is now the most common stroke used in freestyle competitions. The first Olympics held open water swimming events, but after a few Olympic Games, closed water swimming was introduced. The front crawl or freestyle was the first event that was introduced.


Technique

Freestyle swimming implies the use of legs and arms for competitive swimming, except in the case of the
individual medley Medley swimming is a combination of four different swimming strokes ( freestyle (usually front crawl), backstroke, breaststroke, butterfly) into one race. This race is either swum by one swimmer as individual medley (IM) or by four swimmers as ...
or medley relay events. The front crawl is most commonly chosen by swimmers, as this provides the greatest speed. During a race, the competitor circles the arms forward in alternation, kicking the feet up and down (
flutter kick The flutter kick is a kicking movement used in both swimming and calisthenics. Swimming In swimming, the flutter kick refers to an alternating up and down movement of the legs. It is seen in front crawl and backstroke. The downbeat refers to t ...
). Individual freestyle events can also be swum using one of the officially regulated strokes (
breaststroke Breaststroke is a human swimming, swimming style in which the swimmer is on their chest and the torso does not rotate. It is the most popular recreational style due to the swimmer's head being out of the water a large portion of the time, and ...
,
butterfly Butterflies are winged insects from the lepidopteran superfamily Papilionoidea, characterized by large, often brightly coloured wings that often fold together when at rest, and a conspicuous, fluttering flight. The oldest butterfly fossi ...
, or
backstroke Backstroke or back crawl is one of the four Swimming (sport), swimming styles used in competitive events regulated by FINA, and the only one of these styles swum on the back. This swimming style has the advantage of easy breathing, but the disa ...
). For the freestyle part of
medley swimming Medley swimming is a combination of four different swimming (sport), swimming strokes (Freestyle swimming, freestyle (usually front crawl), backstroke, breaststroke, Butterfly stroke, butterfly) into one race. This race is either swum by one sw ...
competitions, however, one cannot use breaststroke, butterfly, or backstroke. Front crawl is based on the Trudgen that was improved by Richmond Cavill from Sydney, Australia. Cavill developed the stroke by observing a young boy from the
Solomon Islands Solomon Islands, also known simply as the Solomons,John Prados, ''Islands of Destiny'', Dutton Caliber, 2012, p,20 and passim is an island country consisting of six major islands and over 1000 smaller islands in Melanesia, part of Oceania, t ...
,
Alick Wickham Alick F. Wickham (1 June 1886 – 10 August 1967) was a Solomon Islander swimmer and diver. Wickham resided in Sydney from 1901 to 1927 where he achieved several Australian and New South Wales titles for swimming. Yet perhaps Wickham's most signi ...
. Cavill and his brothers spread the Australian crawl to England, New Zealand and America, creating the freestyle used worldwide today. During the
Olympic Games The modern Olympic Games (Olympics; ) are the world's preeminent international Olympic sports, sporting events. They feature summer and winter sports competitions in which thousands of athletes from around the world participate in a Multi-s ...
, front crawl is swum almost exclusively during freestyle. Some of the few rules state that swimmers must touch the end of the pool during each length, cannot push off the bottom in the direction of the race, and cannot pull on the lane lines during the course of the race. However, other than this any form or variation of strokes is considered legal with the race. As with all competitive events,
false start In sports, a false start is a disallowed start, usually due to a movement by a participant before (or in some cases after) being signaled or otherwise permitted by the rules to start. Depending on the sport and the event, a false start can resu ...
s can lead to disqualification of the swimmer. Freestyle swimming.gif, Freestyle swimming2 without text.gif, Freestyle swimming3 without text.gif,


New developments in the sport

Times have consistently dropped over the years due to better training techniques and to new developments in the sport. In the first four Olympics, swimming competitions were not held in pools, but in open water (
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– the
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,
1900 As of March 1 ( O.S. February 17), when the Julian calendar acknowledged a leap day and the Gregorian calendar did not, the Julian calendar fell one day further behind, bringing the difference to 13 days until February 28 ( O.S. February 15 ...
– the
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river,
1904 Events January * January 7 – The distress signal ''CQD'' is established, only to be replaced 2 years later by ''SOS''. * January 8 – The Blackstone Library is dedicated, marking the beginning of the Chicago Public Library system. * ...
– an artificial lake in
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,
1906 Events January–February * January 12 – Persian Constitutional Revolution: A nationalistic coalition of merchants, religious leaders and intellectuals in Persia forces the shah Mozaffar ad-Din Shah Qajar to grant a constitution, ...
Neo Faliro Piraeus ( ; ; , Ancient: , Katharevousa: ) is a port city within the Athens urban area ("Greater Athens"), in the Attica (region), Attica region of Greece. It is located southwest of Athens city centre along the east coast of the Saronic Gu ...
). The
1904 Olympics The 1904 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the III Olympiad and also known as St. Louis 1904) were an international multi-sport event held in St. Louis, Missouri, United States, from 1 July to 23 November 1904. Many events were conducted ...
freestyle race was the only one ever measured at 100 yards, instead of the usual 100 meters. A 100-meter pool was built for the
1908 Olympics The 1908 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the IV Olympiad and also known as London 1908) were an international multi-sport event held in London, England, from 27 April to 31 October 1908. The 1908 Games were originally schedu ...
and sat in the center of the main stadium's track and field oval. The
1912 Olympics The 1912 Summer Olympics (), officially known as the Games of the V Olympiad () and commonly known as Stockholm 1912, were an international multi-sport event held in Stockholm, Sweden, between 6 July and 22 July 1912. The opening ceremony was he ...
, held in the
Stockholm Stockholm (; ) is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, most populous city of Sweden, as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in the Nordic countries. Approximately ...
harbor, marked the beginning of electronic timing. Male swimmers wore full body suits up until the 1940s, which caused more drag in the water than their modern swimwear counterparts. Also, over the years, some design considerations have reduced swimming resistance, making the pool faster, namely: proper pool depth, elimination of currents, increased lane width, energy-absorbing racing lane lines and gutters, and the use of other innovative hydraulic, acoustic, and illumination designs. The 1924 Olympics was the first to use the standard 50 meter pool with marked lanes. In freestyle events, swimmers originally dove from the pool walls, but diving blocks were eventually incorporated at the 1936 Olympics. The
flip turn Flip, FLIP, or flips may refer to: People * Flip (nickname), a list of people * Lil' Flip (born 1981), American rapper * Flip Simmons, Australian actor and musician * Flip Wilson, American comedian Arts and entertainment Fictional characters * ...
was developed in the 1950s, resulting in faster times. Lane design created in the early 1970s has also cut down turbulence in water, aiding in the more dynamic pool used today.


Rules and regulation

Freestyle means "any style" for individual swims and any style but breaststroke, butterfly, or backstroke for both the individual medley, and medley relay competitions. The wall has to be touched at every turn and upon completion. Some part of the swimmer must be above water at any time, except for the first 15 meters after the start and every turn. This rule was introduced (see History of swimming) to prevent swimmers from using the faster underwater swimming, such as the
fish kick A fish (: fish or fishes) is an aquatic, anamniotic, gill-bearing vertebrate animal with swimming fins and a hard skull, but lacking limbs with digits. Fish can be grouped into the more basal jawless fish and the more common jawed fis ...
, to their advantage, or even swimming entire laps underwater. The exact FINA rules are: * Freestyle means that in an event so designated the swimmer may swim any style, except that in individual medley or medley relay events, freestyle means any style other than backstroke, breaststroke, or butterfly. * Some part of the swimmer must touch the wall upon completion of each length and at the finish. * Some part of the swimmer must break the surface of the water throughout the race, except it shall be permissible for the swimmer to be completely submerged during the turn and for a distance of not more than 15 meters after the start and each turn. By that point the head must have broken the surface.


Competitions

There are nine competitions used in freestyle swimming, both using either a long time (50 meter) or a short time (25 meter) pool. The United States also employs short time yards (25 yard pool). In the United States, it is common for swimmers to compete in a 25-yard pool during the Fall, Winter, and Spring, and then switch over to a 50-meter pool format during the Summer. * 50 m freestyle (50 yards for short time yards) * 100 m freestyle (100 yards for short time yards) * 200 m freestyle (200 yards for short time yards) * 400 m freestyle (500 yards for short time yards) * 800 m freestyle (1000 yards for short time yards) * 1500 m freestyle (1650 yards for short time yards) * 4 × 50 m freestyle relay (4 x 50 yards for short time yards) * 4 × 100 m freestyle
relay A relay Electromechanical relay schematic showing a control coil, four pairs of normally open and one pair of normally closed contacts An automotive-style miniature relay with the dust cover taken off A relay is an electrically operated switc ...
(4 × 100 yards for short time yards) * 4 × 200 m freestyle
relay A relay Electromechanical relay schematic showing a control coil, four pairs of normally open and one pair of normally closed contacts An automotive-style miniature relay with the dust cover taken off A relay is an electrically operated switc ...
(4 × 200 yards for short time yards) Young swimmers (typically 8 years old and younger) have the option to swim a 25 yard/meter freestyle event. Freestyle is also part of the medley over the following distances: * 100 m individual medley (short 25 m pool only) * 200 m individual medley (200 yard individual medley in short time yards) * 400 m individual medley (400 yards individual medley in short time yards) * 4 × 100 m medley relay (4 × 100 yard medley relay in short time yards) * 4 × 200 m medley relay (4 × 200 yard medley relay in short time yards) In the long-distance races of the , some meets hosted by FINA (including the Olympics) only have the distance for women and the distance for men. However, FINA does keep records in the distance for women and the distance for men, and the
FINA World Championships The World Aquatics Championships, formerly the FINA World Championships, are the World Championships for six aquatic disciplines: Swimming (sport), swimming, Diving (sport), diving, high diving, open water swimming, artistic swimming, and water ...
, as well as many other meets, have both distances for both sexes.The
2002 Pan Pacific Swimming Championships The ninth edition of the Pan Pacific Swimming Championships, a long course (50 m) event, was held in 2002 in Yokohama International Swimming Pool in Yokohama, Japan, from August 24–29. One world record A world record is usually t ...
had an 800 metre distance for men, and 1500 metre distance for women, and appear to have been conducted on this basis since
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. Th
2006 USA Swimming Summer Nationals
have both events, as do th
2006 USA Swimming Summer Junior Nationals
and th
2005 USMS Long Course Nationals


Olympic or long course world champions in freestyle


Men


Women


Further reading

* * * *


See also

*
100 metre freestyle The 100 metre freestyle is often considered to be the highlight (Blue Ribbon event) of the sport of swimming, like 100 metres in the sport of Athletics, symbolizing the pinnacle of speed and athleticism in swimming competitions. The first swimm ...
*
List of world records in swimming The world records in swimming are ratified by World Aquatics (formerly known as FINA), the international governing body of swimming. Records can be set in long course (50 metres) or short course (25 metres) swimming pools. World Aquatics reco ...
* History of swimming *
Special Olympics Special Olympics is the world's largest sports organization for children and adults with intellectual disabilities, providing year-round training and activities to 5 million participants and Unified Sports partners in 172 countries. Special Ol ...
*
Olympics The modern Olympic Games (Olympics; ) are the world's preeminent international sporting events. They feature summer and winter sports competitions in which thousands of athletes from around the world participate in a variety of competit ...


References


External links


Swim.ee
Detailed discussion of swimming techniques and speeds


FINA World records list

Course Conversion Calculator
at SwimCoachTools
Freestyle Swimming Stroke Explained in Detail

Swimming rules
at FINA {{Swimming styles Swimming styles bg:Свободен стил he:שחייה תחרותית#חופשי