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Swimming is movement by humans or animals in water, usually without artificial assistance. Swimming is an activity that is both useful and recreational for many species. Its primary uses are bathing, cooling, travel, fishing and escape. An individual\'s ability to swim can be judged by speed or stamina.
Animals with lungs have an easier time floating than those without.http://www.madsci.org/posts/archives/oct98/908233991.Zo.r.html Almost all mammals can swim by instinct. Bats, kangaroos, moles and sloths can swim, despite their rather strange shapes. The few exceptions include non-human apes and possibly giraffes. Land birds can swim or float for at least some time. Ostriches, cassowaries and tortoises can swim.
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Drawings from the Stone Age were found in "the cave of swimmers" near Sura, dating back to 2000 B.C.Development of the Modern Stroke. Retrieved on 2008-01-08. “Ancient civilizations left ample evidence of their swimming abilities. Bas-relief artwork in an Egyptian tomb from around 2,000 B.C. shows an overarm stroke like the front crawl.” There is evidence that swimming was also a very popular sport in Greece and Italy in the original Olympic games. Athletes would compete in competitions that usually involved many nations competing in water sports in order to gain a prize. In 1538, Nicolas Wynman, German professor of languages, wrote the first swimming book. Competitive swimming in Europe started around 1800, mostly using breaststroke.Development of the Modern Stroke. Retrieved on 2008-01-08. “By 1837, when modern competitive swimming began in London, several indoor pools already existed.” The front crawl, then called the trudgen (now known predominantly as the "front crawl" or "freestyle") was introduced in 1873 by John Arthur Trudgen, copying it from Native Americans.Breakthrough Swimming. Retrieved on 2008-01-09.
Swimming was part of the first modern 1896 Summer Olympics games in Athens. In 1900, backstroke was included as an Olympic Event. In 1908, the world swimming association Federation Internationale de Natation was formed. Butterfly was first a variant of breaststroke, until it was accepted as a separate style in the 1952 Olympics. At present, there are the four recognized strokes of butterfly, backstroke, breaststroke and freestyle; while the IM ("Individual Medley") is a combination of all four of the strokes in a specific order. Butterfly is done first, followed by backstroke, breaststroke, and then finishing with freestyle.
Freestyle is actually a choice of stroke in a race. Although, most swimmers decide to swim front crawl because it is faster.
The human body is 70% water and has a very similar density to water. While the lungs are filled with air, the body is slightly less dense than the surrounding water, and there is a net upward force on the body. Thus staying afloat requires only a slight propelling of water downward relative to the body, and transverse motion only a slight propelling of water in a direction opposite to the direction of intended motion. Propelling is accomplished by using the hands and forearms as paddles, and by kicking the legs and feet to push water away from the body (though kicking accounts for relatively little thrust). Since salt water (e.g. the ocean) is denser than fresh water (e.g. most swimming pools), less effort is required to stay afloat in salt water than in fresh water.
Swimming styles have been developed based on the following principles:
Try to keep the legs straight. Dropped legs or a slanted torso dramatically increase drag. The hand should be extended forward of the head as far as possible. This increases the average length at the water-line, substantially increasing speed.
Recent research[citation needed] has shown that hand force applied to the water is generated by the rotation of the hips, and not by the muscles of the arm. The muscles that pull the arm through the water are attached within one inch of the top of the arm. With a 21" arm, the lever ratio is 1:20, which means that a 100 lbs. of pull by the shoulder muscles produces only 5 lbs. of force at the hand as it pushes back against the water. The torque generated by the larger, stronger hip muscles, on the other hand, whips the hands through the water, much like golfers or batters whip their clubs and bats through the air with a fast turn of the hips. Elite swimmers who were able to make modest increases in the acceleration of their hips doubled their peak hand force output.
The time spent on the side should be maximized so the shoulders do not break the water-line and do not produce bow waves. This reduces the frontal cross-section, reducing drag further, and also increasing the ratio between the body\'s water-line-length and width. Similar improvements are possible by orienting the narrowest direction of head, hands, legs and arms into the water. The torso is by far the most critical. The motion of the hand, arm, and leg from the back to the front should be in the air for as much time during the recovery stroke as possible, and in the water, oriented as hydrodynamically as possible, because the returning appendage has to move at least twice as fast as the swimmer, and in the water generates eight times the drag (which increases with the cube of the speed) of an equal amount of torso frontal area. Rotating the shoulders also adds power to the pull by using abdominal muscles to help pull the arm through the water.
The basic "catch" of the water is not nearly as critical as the above items. Most swimmers simply grab water with their hand flat, or the fingers slightly spread, and then draw it smoothly down their body. None of the above techniques require improved strength. With strength training, the hands and feet can be extended further into the water, gaining more propulsion. For beginners, increased strength brings only small improvements if the above strategies (minimising drag and lengthening water-line) are not optimal.
Another technique that can help an athlete swim at a higher performance level is proper breathing techniques. Breathing correctly can make the swimmer swim faster and with less fatigue. Competitive swimmers take in one breath and gradually let it out over three to four strokes. As the race progresses and the swimmer becomes tired, less oxygen from those breaths reach the muscles. It is possible to teach the body to run on less than normal levels of oxygen. Take a deep breath at one side of a pool, submerge fully, and kick like a dolphin. Try crossing the pool with one breath, and then extend the distance. Another way to practice endurance is by taking a breath and letting it out over six strokes (while freestyle swimming).
Skeletal animation and computational fluid dynamics allow simulation of swimmers. This allows the forces on joints and muscles to be measured, and, if multiple simulations are employed, to compare different styles or individuals. By means of computer graphics or motion capture the simulation can be compared to real swimmers.[1], [2]
Some – but not all – primates swim. Gorillas, chimpanzees, bonobos, orangutans, giraffes, and at least some gibbons are among the few mammals which lack the instinctive ability to swim, although they can wade upright in water. There are reports that the siamang can swim. There are reports of apes in zoos falling and drowning in water moats without any struggle. Humans, similarly, do not swim instinctively, but can learn. In contrast, many monkeys can naturally swim and some, like the proboscis monkey, crab-eating macaque, and Rhesus macaque swim regularly.
A dog swimming
Some breeds of dog swim recreationally. Umbra, a world record-holding dog, can swim 4 miles (6.4 km) in 73 minutes, placing her in the top 25% in human long-distance swimming competitionshttp://www.sdogv.com/swim.html. Although most cats hate water, adult cats are good swimmers. The fishing cat is one wild species of cat that has evolved special adaptations for an aquatic or semi-aquatic lifestyle - webbed digits. Tigers and some individual jaguars are the only big cats known go into water readily, though other big cats, including lions, have been observed swimming. A few domestic cat breeds also like swimming, such as the Turkish Van.
Horses, moose, and elk are very powerful swimmers, and can travel long distances in the water. Elephants are also capable of swimming, even in deep waters. Although there is speculation to the contrary, a number of eyewitnesses have confirmed that camels, including Dromedaries and Bactrians, can indeed swimhttp://www.straightdope.com/mailbag/mcamelswim.html, despite the fact that there is little deep water in their natural habitats.
Both domestic and wild rabbits can swim. Domestic rabbits are sometimes trained to swim as a circus attraction. A wild rabbit famously swam in an apparent attack on U.S. President Jimmy Carter\'s boat when it was threatened in its natural habitat.http://www.newsoftheodd.com/article1021.html
The Guinea pig (or cavy) is noted as having an excellent swimming ability, though domestically-kept cavies are rarely given the opportunity toHarkness, John E. (1995). The Biology and Medicine of Rabbits and Rodents. Williams & Wilkins, pp. 30–39. ISBN 0-683-03919-9. . Mice can swim quite well, despite not naturally having to. They do panic when placed in water, but many lab mice are used in the Morris water maze, a test to measure learning. When mice swim, they use their tails like flagella and kick with their legs.
Many species of snakes are aquatic and live their entire lives in the water, but all terrestrial snakes are excellent swimmers as well.[citation needed] The larger pythons and anacondas spend the majority of their time in the water; their skeletons are not able to support their body weight well on dry land. Many Beetles are able to swim effectively in water. Some species of diving beetle spend most of their time in the water.
The goal of competitive swimming is to be the fastest to swim at a given distance and drop time. Competitive swimming became popular in the nineteenth century, and comprises 34 individual events - 17 male events and 17 female events. Swimming is a popular event at the Summer Olympic Games, where male and female athletes compete in 13 of the recognized events each. Olympic events are held in a 50 meter pool. Competitive swimming\'s international governing body is FINA (Fédération Internationale de Natation), the International Swimming Federation.
The four competitive strokes are the butterfly, backstroke, breaststroke, and freestyle (front crawl). While "freestyle" and "front crawl" are often used interchangeably, freestyle is the more common name and is used in most all competitive, club-swimming or international competitions. A swimmer may actually swim any stroke or combination of strokes in a freestyle race. Swimmers generally choose to swim front crawl in a freestyle event since it is typically the fastest stroke. Disqualification will occur if the stroke is not swum correctly. For example: if the swimmer does not touch the wall with two hands during breaststroke.
These strokes can be swum individually or together in an individual medley (IM). The IM order is: 1) butterfly, 2) backstroke, 3) breaststroke, and 4) freestyle. There are two types of relays: medley and freestyle. The medley relay order is: 1) backstroke, 2) breaststroke, 3) butterfly, and 4) freestyle. Each of the four swimmers in the relay swims a predetermined distance, dependent on the overall length of the relay. The three relay lengths are 200 meters or yards, 400 meters or yards, and 800 meters or yards (which is only swum freestyle). In a 50 meter pool, each swimmer swims one length for the 200 relay, two lengths for the 400 relay, and four lengths for the 800 relay. In a 25 meter or yard pool, each swimmer swims two lengths for the 200 relay, four lengths for the 400 relay, and eight lengths for the 800 relay.There have also been 100 yard relays that have been done by 8 and under swimmers, but is very rare except in summer recreation leagues. Many full-size competition pools in the United States have a length of 50 meters and a width of 25 yards (the Olympic pool size, allowing both short course (25 m or 25 yd pool) and long course (50 m pool) races to be held.
There are several types of judges: a starter sends the swimmers off the blocks and may also call a false-start if a swimmer leaves the block before the starter sends them; finish judges make sure the swimmers touch the wall with the appropriate number of hands (one hand for freestyle and backstroke, two for breaststroke and butterfly with the swimmer\'s hands touching the wall at the same time, not one after another) turn judges check that the swimmers\' turns are within rules; stroke judges check the swimmers\' strokes; time keepers time the swims; and the referee along with the starter and the officials make sure everything is running smoothly. If an official catches a swimmer breaking a rule concerning the stroke he or she is swimming, that swimmer is said to be disqualified (commonly referred to as "DQ\'d") and the swim is not considered valid, and therefore their time is also not valid .
In the United States and the United Kingdom, communities may sponsor competitive swimming leagues for children and teenagers, made up of swim teams. These leagues for the most part adhere to recognized swimming rules, swim the standard strokes, but swim shorter lengths as events in swim meets. These leagues are usually active in the warmer months, and are not directly associated with a national or world swim organization. However, swimmers who begin their competitive swimming experience on such a local swim team may go on to join a nationally-governed team.
In Australia such competition is usually conducted under the auspices of a club affiliated with the State Association which in turn is affiliated with Swimming Australia, the FINA accredited body. This provides a direct pathway to top level competition for those capable of taking it while still providing a more relaxed environment for those whose main intent is to have fun swimming competitively.
Include people such as: Ian Thorpe, Michael Phelps, Grant Hackett, Pieter van den Hoogenband, Michael Klim, Ian Crocker, Laure Manadou, David Wilkie, Liesel Jones and Mark Spitz.
Times have dropped over the years due to better training techniques and to new developments in the sport.
In the first four Olympics competitions were not held in pools, but rather in open water (1896- The Mediterranean Sea, 1900- The Seine River, 1904- an artificial lake, 1906- The Mediterranean Sea). The 1904 Olympics\' 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 and sat in the center of the main stadium\'s track and field oval. The 1912 Olympics, held in the Stockholm harbour, marked the beginning of electronic timing.
Male swimmers wore full body suits up until the 1940\'s, which caused more drag in the water than their modern swim-wear counterparts. Competition suits now include specially engineered fabric and designs to further 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 absorbing racing lane lines and gutters, and the use of other innovative hydraulic, acoustic and illumination designs.
The 1924 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 eventually incorporated at the 1936 Summer Olympics. The flip-turn was developed by the 1950s.
Some famous swimmers include world-record breaker Alexander Popov,Michael Phelps, Pieter van den Hoogenband, Ian Thorpe, Amanda Beard, Mark Spitz, Mary T. Meagher, Pablo Morales, Jenny Thompson, and Gary Hall Jr.
The most common purpose for swimming is recreation. Recreational swimming is considered by many a good way to relax, while enjoying a good full-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 arm recovery. Breaststroke, side stroke, and dog paddle, are the most common strokes utilized in recreational swimming, but the out-of-water arm recovery of freestyle or butterfly gives rise to better exploitation of the difference in resistance between air and water.
The butterfly stroke, which consists of out-of-water recovery with even symmetry in body movements, is most suited to rough water swimming. For example, in a record-setting example of endurance swimming, Vicki Keith crossed the rough waters of Lake Ontario using butterfly. Most recreational swimming takes place in swimming pools, and calm natural waters (sea, lakes, rivers). Therefore freestyle (which does not work as well in rough water) is suitable.
Some occupations require the workers to swim. For example, abalone divers or pearl divers swim and dive to obtain an economic benefit, as do spear fishermen.
Swimming is used to rescue other swimmers in distress. There are a number of specialized swimming styles specially for rescue purposes (see List of swimming styles). Such techniques are studied by lifeguards or members of the Coast Guard. The training of these techniques has also evolved into competitions such as surf lifesaving.
Swimming is also used in marine biology to observe plants and animals in their natural habitat. Other sciences use swimming, for example Konrad Lorenz swam with geese as part of his studies of animal behavior.
Swimming also has military purposes. Military swimming is usually done by special forces, such as Navy SEALS. Swimming is used to approach a location, gather intelligence, sabotage or combat, and to depart a location. This may also include airborne insertion into water or exiting a submarine while it\'s submerged.
Swimming has become a professional sport as well. Companies such as Speedo, TYR Sports, Arena and Nike sponsor swimmers who are at the international level. Cash awards are also given at many of the major competitions for breaking records.[citation needed]
Swimming is an excellent form of exercise. Because the density of the human body is very similar to that of water, the body is supported by the water and less stress is therefore placed on joints and bones. Therefore, swimming is frequently used as an exercise in rehabilitation after injuries or for those with disabilities.
Resistance swimming is one form of swimming exercise. It is done either for training purposes, to hold the swimmer in place for stroke analysis, or to enable swimming in a confined space for athletic or therapeutic reasons. Resistance swimming can be done either against a stream of moving water (often termed a swimming machine) or by holding the swimmer stationary with elastic attachments.
Swimming is primarily an aerobic exercise due to the long exercise time, requiring a constant oxygen supply to the muscles, except for short sprints where the muscles work anaerobically. As with most aerobic exercise swimming is believed to reduce the harmful effects of stress. Swimming can improve posture and develop a strong lean physique, called, logically, a "swimmer\'s build": lean and spare throughout, with wide shoulders and a smaller lower body.
Swimming is a healthy activity and enjoys a low risk of injury compared with many other sports. Nevertheless there are some health risks with swimming, including the following:
Organizations publish safety guidelines to help swimmers avoid these risks River and Lake Swimming Association\'s Safety Pages Insurance Information Institute\'s Pool Safety Pages Safe Sea Swimming.
Floatation aids such as this styrofoam board can help children learn to swim.
Children are often given formal swimming lessons, which serve to develop swimming technique and confidence. Children generally do not swim independently until 4 years of age.Injury Prevention Committee (2003). "Swimming lessons for infants and toddlers". Paediatrics & Child Health 8 (2): 113–114.
In Sweden, Denmark, Norway and Finland, the curriculum for the fifth grade states that all children should learn how to swim as well as how to handle emergencies near water. Most commonly, children are expected to be able to swim 200 metres (220 yards) – of which at least 50 metres (55 yards) on their back – after first falling into deep water and getting their head under water. Even though about 95 percent of Swedish school children know how to swim, drowning remains the third most common cause of death among children.Lindmark, Ulrika. Tillsyn av simkunnighet och förmåga att hantera nödsituationer vid vatten (PDF) (Swedish). Retrieved on 2006-06-28.
In both the Netherlands and Belgium swimming lessons under school time (schoolzwemmen, school swimming) are supported by the government. Most schools provide swimming lessons. There is a long tradition of swimming lessons in the Netherlands and Belgium, the Dutch translation for the breaststroke swimming style is even schoolslag (schoolstroke). The children learn with schoolswimming a variant of the breaststroke which is technically not entirely correct.
In many places, swimming lessons are provided by local swimming pools, both those run by the local authority and by private leisure companies. Many schools also include swimming lessons into their Physical Education curricula, provided either in the schools\' own pool, or in the nearest public pool.
In the UK, the "Top-ups scheme" calls for school children who cannot swim by the age of 11 to receive intensive daily lessons. These children who have not reached Great Britain\'s National Curriculum standard of swimming 25 metres by the time they leave primary school will be given a half-hour lesson every day for two weeks during term-time. "Children unable to swim at 11 will be given top-up lessons", Telegraph Group Limited, 2006-06-14. Retrieved on 2006-07-12.
In Canada and Mexico there has been a call for swimming to be included in the public school curriculum. "Federal minister calls for school swim lessons", CTV, 2005-07-18. Retrieved on 2006-06-28.
Most standard clothing is impractical – and often unsafe – for swimming. In most historical cultures, it has been common to swim nude, but in those with taboos against nudity, specialized swimwear has been the norm. Most cultures today expect swimsuits to be worn for public swimming.
Modern men\'s swimsuits are usually shorts also known as jammers, either skintight or loose fitting, covering only the upper legs or not at all. Almost always, the upper body is left uncovered. In some cultures, custom and/or laws have required tops for public swimming.
Modern women\'s swimsuits are generally skintight, either two pieces covering only the breasts and pelvic region, or a single piece covering them both plus the torso between them. Skirts are uncommon and short when included, but have been required and sometimes as much as full length in some cultures.
Competitive swimwear seeks to improve upon bare human skin for a speed advantage. For swimming in cold water, wetsuits provide thermal insulation.
Swimming hats keep you streamlined and keep your hair dry.
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