History of

Swimming

Alyssa Mae Dagawin

BSBA II-C
AN ANCIENT DISCIPLINE
Prehistoric man learnt to swim in order to cross rivers and lakes we know this because cave paintings
from the Stone Age depicting swimmers have been found in Egypt. Swimming was also referred to in
Greek mythology.

DAWN OF A SPORT
Swimming was not widely practised until the early 19th century, when the National Swimming Society of
Great Britain began to hold competitions. Most early swimmers used the breaststroke, or a form of it.

DISCOVERING THE CRAWL

Based on a stroke used by native South Americans, the first version of the crawl featured a scissor kick. In
the late 1880s, an Englishman named Frederick Cavill travelled to the South Seas, where he saw the
natives performing a crawl with a flutter kick. Cavill settled in Australia, where he taught the stroke that
was to become the famous Australian crawl.

OLYMPIC HISTORY
Swimming has featured on the programme of all editions of the Games since 1896. The very first
Olympic events were freestyle (crawl) or breaststroke. Backstroke was added in 1904.

In the 1940s, breaststrokers discovered that they could go faster by bringing both arms forward
over their heads. This practice was immediately forbidden in breaststroke, but gave birth to
butterfly, whose first official appearance was at the 1956 Games in Melbourne. This style is now
one of the four strokes used in competition.

Womens swimming became Olympic in 1912 at the Stockholm Games. Since then, it has been
part of every edition of the Games. The mens and womens programmes are almost identical, as
they contain the same number of events, with only one difference: the freestyle distance is 800
metres for women and 1,500 metres for men.

Competitive swimming in Britain started around 1830, mostly using breaststroke.

Swimming was part of the first modern Olympic Games in 1896 in Athens. In 1908, the world
swimming association, Fdration Internationale de Natation (FINA), was formed. 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. In 1902 the trudgen was improved by
Richard Cavill, using the flutter kick. In 1908, the world swimming association, Federation
Internationale de Natation de Amateur (FINA), was formed. Butterfly was first a variant of
breaststroke, until it was accepted as a separate style in 1952.

Ancient Times

Drawings from the Stone Age were found in "the cave of swimmers" near Wadi Sora (or
Sura) in the southwestern part of Egypt near Libya. These pictures seem to show breaststroke or
dog paddle, although it may also be possible that the movements have a ritual meaning unrelated
to swimming. This cave is also featured in the movie The English Patient. An Egyptian clay seal
dated between 4000 B.C. and 9000 B.C. shows four swimmers who are believed to be swimming
a variant of the front crawl. More references to swimming are found in Babylonian bas-reliefs
and Assyrian wall drawings, depicting a variant of the breaststroke. The most famous drawings
were found in the Kebir desert and are estimated to be from around 4000 B.C. The Nagoda bas-
relief also shows swimmers dating back from 3000 B.C. The Indian palace Mohenjo Daro from
2800B.C. contains a swimming pool sized 30m by 60m. The Minoan palace Minos of Knossos in
Crete also featured baths. An Egyptian tomb from 2000 B.C. shows a variant of the front crawl.
Depictions of swimmers were also found from the Hittites, Minoans, and other Middle Eastern
civilizations, the Incas in the Tepantitla House at Teotihuacan, and in mosaics in Pompeii.

The Greeks did not include swimming in the ancient Olympic Games, but practiced the sport,
often building swimming pools as part of their baths. One common insult in Greece was to say
about somebody that he/she neither knew how to run nor swim. The Etruscans at Tarquinia
(Italy) show pictures of swimmers in 600 B.C., and tombs in Greece depict swimmers 500 B.C.
The greek Scyllis was taken prisoner on a ship of the Persian king Xerxes I in 480 B.C. After
learning about an impending attack on the Greek navy, he stole a knife and jumped overboard.
During the night and using a snorkel made from reed, he swam back to the ships and cut them
loose. It was also said that the ability to swim saved the Greeks at the Battle of Salamis, while
the Persians all drowned when their ships were destroyed. Julius Caesar was also known to be a
good swimmer. A series of reliefs from 850 B.C. in the Nimrud Gallery of the British Museum
show swimmers, mostly in military context, often using swimming aids.

In Japan swimming was one of the noble skills of the Samurai, and historic records describe
swimming competitions in 36 B.C. organized by emperor Suigui (spelling unclear), which are
the first known swimming races. The Germanic folklore describes swimming, which was used
successfully in wars against the Romans. Swimming competitions are also known from that
time.

Middle Ages to 1800

In 1603 the first national swimming organization was established in Japan. TEmperor Go-Yozei of Japan
declared that school children should swim.

In 1696, the French author Thevenot wrote "The Art of Swimming", describing a breaststroke very similar
to the modern breaststroke. This book was translated into English and became the standard reference of
swimming for many years to come.

In 1708, the first known lifesaving group "Chinkiang Association for the Saving of Life" was established
in China. In 1796 a (still existing) swimming club was founded in Upsala, Sweden. Benjamin Franklin is
credited with the invention of the swimming fins at the age of ten, in 1716.

In 1739 Guts Muts (also spelled as Guts Muth) from Schnepfenthal, Germany, wrote "Gymnastik fr die
Jugend" (Exercise for the youth), including a significant portion about swimming. In 1794 Kanonikus
Oronzio de Bernardi of Italy wrote a two volume book about swimming, including floating practice as a
prerequisite for swimming studies. In 1798 Guts Muts wrote another book "Kleines Lehrbuch der
Schwimmkunst zum Selbstunterricht" (Small study book of the art of swimming for self study),
recommending the use of a "fishing rod" device to aid in the learning of swimming. His books describe a
three step approach to learn swimming that is still used today. First, get the student used to the water,
second, practice the swimming movements out of the water, third, practice the swimming movements in
the water. He believed that swimming is an essential part of every education.

More lifesaving groups were established in 1767 (1768?) in Amsterdam by the Dutch, 1772 in
Copenhagen, and in 1774 by Great Britain. In 1768 a humane society was established in the United
States. The Haloren, a group of salt makers in Halle, Germany, greatly advanced swimming through
setting a good example to others by teaching their children swimming at a very early age.

The Pre-Olympic Era to 1896

In 1804 the lifebelt was invented by W. H. Mallison (America?), the device being known at that time
as the "Seamans Friend". However, the lifebelts took up valuable space on ships, and the United States
Navy was worried about the devices being used by sailors to desert.

The first German swimming club was founded in 1837 in Berlin. A journal mentions "swimming skates"
in France, which may be an early version of a surfboard.
The first indoor swimming pool was built in England in 1862. An Amateur Swimming Association of
Great Britain was organized in 1880 with more than 300 members. The main swimming styles were the
breaststroke and the recently developed sidestroke. In the sidestroke, the swimmer lies on one side.
Initially, the arms were brought forward under water, but this was soon modified to bring the arm forward
over water to reduce resistance and to improve the speed, resulting in an overarm sidestroke. The legs
were squeezed together in a scissor style. In 1895, J. H. Thayers of England swam 100 yards in a record-
breaking 1:02.50 using a sidestroke.

In 1873 John Arthur Trudgen reintroduced the front crawl to England. Trudgen learned the stroke from
Native Americans during a trip to South America (the exact date, however, is disputed and may be
anywhere between 1870 and 1890). This stroke, a variant of the front crawl, was then called the Trudgen
or Trudgeon. The arms were brought forward, alternating while the body rolled from side to side. The
kick was a scissors kick, with one kick for two arm strokes, although it is believed that the Native
Americans did indeed do a flutter kick and Trudgen mistakenly used the (in Britain) more common
breaststroke kick. Variants used different ratios of scissor kicks to arm strokes, or alternated with a flutter
(up-and-down) kick. The speed of the new stroke was demonstrated by F. V. C. Lane in 1901, swimming
100 yards in 1:00.0, an improvement of about ten seconds compared to the breaststroke record. This style
is the first European version of the front crawl, the fastest swimming style known today. Due to its speed
the Trudgen became very quickly popular around the world, despite all the ungentlemanlike splashing.

Captain Matthew Webb was the first man to swim the English channel (between England and France), in
1875. He used breaststroke, swimming 21.26 miles in 21 hours and 45 minutes. No other man or woman
swam the channel for the next 31 years. He died in 1882 while attempting to swim the Niagara Falls. The
first European amateur swimming competitions were in 1889 in Vienna.

In 1879 Louis III of Bavaria built a swimming pool in castle Linderhof. This is believed to be the first
artificial wave pool and also featured electrically heated water and light.

Synchronized swimming started in the late 19th century, and the first competition was in 1891 in Berlin, a
men's-only event.

The Modern Olympic Era after 1896

The Olympic Games were held in 1896 in Athens, a male-only competition (see also Swimming
at the 1896 Summer Olympics). Six events were planned, but only four events were actually
contested: 100 m, 500 m, and 1200 m freestyle and 100 m for sailors. The first gold medal was
won by Alfred Hajos of Hungary in 1:22.20 for the 100m freestyle. Hajos was also victorious in
the 1200 m event, and was unable to compete in the 500 m, which was won by Austrian Paul
Neumann. Another swimming competition of 100m for sailors included three Greek sailors in
Bay of Zea near Piraeus, starting from a rowing boat. The winner was Ioannis Malokinis in two
minutes and 20 seconds. A 1500m race was also performed.

In 1897 Capt. Henry Sheffield designed a rescue can or rescue cylinder, now well known as the
lifesaving device in Baywatch. The pointed ends made it slide faster though the water, although
it can cause injuries.

The second Olympic games in Paris in 1900 featured 200m, 1000m, and 4000m freestyle, 200m
backstroke , and a 200m team race (see also Swimming at the 1900 Summer Olympics).
The Olympics in 1904 in St. Louis included races over 50 yards, 100 yards, 220 yards, 440
yards, 880 yards and one mile freestyle, 100 yards backstroke and 440 yards breaststroke, and
the 4*50 yards freestyle relay (see also Swimming at the 1904 Summer Olympics). These games
differentiated between breaststroke and freestyle, so that there were now two defined styles
(breaststroke and backstroke) and freestyle, where most people swam Trudgen. These games also
featured a competition to plunge for distance, where the distance without swimming, after
jumping in a pool, was measured.

In 1907 the swimmer Annette Kellerman from Australia visited the United States as an
"Underwater Ballerina", a version of Synchronized swimming, diving into glass tanks. She was
arrested for indecent exposure, as her swimsuit showed arms, legs and the neck. Kellerman
changed the suit to have long arms and legs, and a collar, still keeping the close fit revealing the
shapes underneath. She later starred in several movies, including one about her life.

In 1908, the world swimming association Federation Internationale de Natation de Amateur

(FINA) was formed.

On 28 July 1912, a 800m long bridge between Binz and Rgen, Germany collapsed under the
load of 1000 people waiting for a cruise steamer Kronprinz Wilhelm. Sailors of the German navy
were able to save most people, but 17 people died because they could not swim, including seven
children. This catastrophe caused the foundation of the Deutsche Lebens-Rettungs-Gesellschaft
(DLRG) (German lifesaving organization) on October 19 1913 in Leipzig. In the same year the
first elastic swimsuit was made by the sweater company Jantzen.

In 1922, Johnny Weissmuller became the first person to swim the 100m in less than a minute,
using a six kicks per cycle Australian crawl. Johnny Weissmuller started the golden age of
swimming and was the world's most famous swimmer, winning five Olympic medals and 36
national championships and never losing a race in his ten-year career, until he retired from
swimming and started his second career as Tarzan. His record of 51 seconds in 100 yard freestyle
stood for over 17 years. In the same year, Sybil Bauer was the first woman to break a mens
world record over the 440m backstroke in 6:24.8.

At the 1924 Summer Olympics in Paris, lane dividers made of cork were used for the first time,
and lines on the pool bottom aided with orientation.

In 1943 the US ordered the reduction of fabric in swimsuits by 10% due to wartime shortages,
resulting in the first two piece swimsuits. Shortly thereafter the Bikini was invented in Paris by
Louis Reard (officially) or Jacques Heim (earlier, but slightly larger).

Another modification was developed for breaststroke. In breaststroke, breaking the water surface
increases the friction, reducing the speed of the swimmer. Therefore, swimming underwater
increases the speed. This led to a controversy at the 1956 Summer Olympics in Melbourne, and
six swimmers were disqualified, as they repeatedly swam long distances underwater. However,
one Japanese swimmer, Masaru Furukawa, circumvented the rule by not surfacing at all after the
start, but swimming as much of the lane under water as possible before breaking the surface. He
swam all but 5m under water for the first three 50m laps, and also swam half under water for the
last lap, winning the gold medal. The adoption of this technique led to many swimmers suffering
from oxygen starvation or even some swimmers passing out during the race due to a lack of air,
and a new rule was introduced by the FINA, limiting the distance that can be swum under water
after the start and every turn, and requiring the head to break the surface every cycle. The 1956
games in Melbourne also saw the introduction of the body roll, a sort of tumble turn to faster
change directions at the end of the lane.

In 1972, another famous swimmer, Mark Spitz, was at the height of his career. During the 1972
Summer Olympics in Munich, Germany, he won seven gold medals, more than any other
Olympic athlete has ever won. Shortly thereafter in 1973, the first swimming world cup was held
in Belgrade, Yugoslavia by the FINA.

The swimmers Daichi Suzuki (Japan) and David Berkoff (America) used this for the 100m
backstroke at the 1988 Summer Olympics in Seoul. Berkoff swam 33m of the first lane
completely underwater using only a dolphin kick, surfacing just before the turn, far ahead of his
competition. A sports commentator called this a Berkoff Blastoff. Suzuki, having practiced the
underwater technique for 10 years, surfaced only a little bit earlier, winning the race in 0:55.05.
The rules were quickly changed in the same year by the FINA to ensure the health and safety of
the swimmers, limiting the underwater phase after the start to ten meters, which was expanded to
15m in 1991. In Seoul, Kristin Otto from East Germany won six gold medals, the most ever won
by a woman.

In 1998 Benot Lecomte swam across the Atlantic Ocean, a total of 5,600 kilometers in 72 days,
swimming 6 to 8 hours daily. He was accompanied by two sailors on a sailboat.