Olympic Sport since 1896
"My will to live completely overcame my desire to win."
 |
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| Katie
Hoff (R) and Ariana Kukors of the U.S. swim in the women's 400m individual
medley final at the Pan Pacific 2006 swimming championships in Victoria,
British Columbia, August 18, 2006. Hoff won the event.
[Reuters] |
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That was
the reaction of 19-year-old Hungarian Alfred Hajos after he won the 1200 metres
freestyle at the first modern Olympic Games in Athens in 1896. He won by being
the first swimmer to reach shore after a boat had left everyone in the icy
waters of the Mediterranean.
Olympic swimming has come a long way, to temperature-controlled 50-metre
pools, wave-killing gutters, lane markers designed to reduce turbulence, and
status as one of the Games' glamour events. It is far removed from those early
days.
There were the venues, from the Bay of Zea in 1896, to Paris's River Seine in
1900, to a 100-metre pool constructed inside the athletics track in 1908. Then
there were the events, from a 100-metre race for Greek sailors in 1896, to
underwater and obstacle races in 1900, to a "plunge for distance" in 1908. That
event involved a standing dive, with contestants then remaining motionless for
60 seconds, or until their heads broke the surface - whichever came first.
COMPETITION
Women's swimming events became a regular part of the Olympic Games in 1912,
and men and women now compete in 16 events each. The programme involves four
different strokes across a range of distances.
Freestyle races cover 50, 100, 200, 400, 800, 1500, 10 000 metres. The 800m
is for women only, the 1500m for men only. The butterfly, backstroke and
breaststroke races each cover 100 and 200 metres. All four strokes are used in
the 200m and 400m individual medley events.
The 4 x 100m freestyle, 4 x 200m freestyle and 4 x 100m medley relays
complete the programme.
Each race has a maximum of eight swimmers. Preliminary heats in the 50m, 100m
and 200m lead to semi-finals and finals based on the fastest times. In relays
and individual events of 400 metres or more, the eight fastest finishers in the
preliminaries advance directly to the finals.
LIST OF EVENTS
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Men |
Women |
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100m backstroke
100m
breaststroke
100m butterfly
100m
freestyle
1500m freestyle
200m backstroke
200m breaststroke
200m
butterfly
200m freestyle
200m individual medley
400m freestyle
400m
individual medley
4x100m freestyle
relay
4x100m medley relay
4x200m
freestyle relay
50m freestyle
marathon
10km
|
|
 |
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100m backstroke
100m
breaststroke
100m butterfly
100m freestyle
200m
backstroke
200m breaststroke
200m butterfly
200m freestyle
200m individual medley
400m
freestyle
400m individual medley
4x100m freestyle relay
4x100m
medley relay
4x200m freestyle relay
50m freestyle
800m freestyle
marathon 10km
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