Essay The History of the Sport of Swimming - 726 Words

Swimming by definition is â€Å"to move along in water by means of movements of the body or parts of the body, especially the arms and legs, or (in the case of fish) tail and fins† (Swimming). The sport of swimming has a long history, from the beginning with the Egyptians and Hittites, through the competitive athletes of this century. While the history of competitive swimming is more in depth and has more information about it, the ancient history has a more solid background (MLA 7th Edition). In Egyptian history, swimming was used for combat and a way to escape from the enemy. Ramesses the Second and his troops escaped from the Hittites in the Battle of Kadesh. This story is also shown on hieroglyphics, which also provides evidence of early†¦show more content†¦When swimming reached the age-group level through Amateur Athletic Union (AAU), swim clubs started to grow and through this growth the four individual strokes grew to become the â€Å"competitive† stroke s. These strokes are front crawl or freestyle, back crawl or backstroke, breaststroke and butterfly. However, these are not the only events that athletes are able to swim at meets. Athletes are able to swim the individual medley, medley relays and freestyle relays. These events have a certain length, which can vary from a 50-meter sprint to the mile freestyle. The Olympic pools or long- course pools are 50 meters and a short-course pool is 25 meters or yards. (MLA 7th Edition) There are different training approaches to each of these strokes. For a sprinter a coach wants to make sure that they build up the athlete’s endurance for a quick, fast race. A long distance swimmer needs the endurance to power through a long event and make sure that they have enough energy left for them to sprint the last 100 to 50 meters. While training, a swimmer has to focus on a wide range of techniques; the arm stroke; the kick; the timing and coordination of their body movements; the breathing rh ythm; and their body position in the water. Learning each one of these techniques requires practice and precision (MLA 7th Edition). During a swim race, there are three distinct components: the start, the turn, and the overall swim. Each has a distinct technique and a slightShow MoreRelatedSwimming Events Within The World1108 Words   |  5 PagesIntroduction: Today, swimming is very much an enjoyable activity as a form of recreation, exercise, or physical therapy, as well as a disciplined competitive sport. Early Swimming: In the olden days, swimming was basically an exercise, seen as a life skill, and therefore, people would commence controlled coaching. 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