Swimming 101: the basics
Individual Strokes:
The four competitive swimming strokes are freestyle, backstroke, breaststroke and butterfly.
In freestyle events, the competitor may swim any stroke. The stroke most commonly used is sometimes called the crawl. On turns and finishes, some part of the swimmer must touch the wall. Many swimmers do a flip turn. Touching the bottom of the pool or pulling on the lane lines will result in a disqualification.
Backstroke consists of an alternating motion of the arms with a flutter kick while on the back. On turns, swimmers may rotate to the stomach and perform a flip turn and some part of the swimmer must touch the wall. At the finish the swimmer must remain on the back. Rolling onto the stomach to look for the wall will result in a disqualification.
The breaststroke, which is the oldest stroke dating back hundreds of years, requires simultaneous movements of the arms on the same horizontal plane. The hands are pressed out from in front of the breast in a heart shaped pattern and recovered under or on the surface of the water. The kick is a simultaneous somewhat circular motion similar to the action of a frog. On turns and at the finish, the swimmer must touch the wall with both hands simultaneously at, above or below the water surface.
Some consider the butterfly to be the most beautiful of the strokes. It features a simultaneous recovery of the arms over the water combined with an undulating dolphin kick. In the kick, the swimmer must keep both legs together and may not flutter, scissors or use the breaststroke kick. Both hands must touch the wall simultaneously on the turns and the finish. (The butterfly is the newest stroke and was developed in the early 1950s as a variation of the breaststroke. It became an Olympic stroke in 1956 in Melbourne.)
The individual medley, commonly referred to as the IM, features all four strokes. In the IM, the swimmer begins with the butterfly, then changes to backstroke, then breaststroke and finally freestyle.
Relays:
A medley relay consists of four swimmers, each swimming a different stroke. The first swimmer swims backstroke, the second breaststroke, the third butterfly, and the final swimmer anchors the relay with freestyle.
A freestyle relay consists of four swimmers, each swimming one quarter of the total distance of the event with a freestyle stroke.
