History
Swimming has been an event in the Summer Olympics since the first modern Olympiad in 1896. It has also been an event for women since 1912 which makes it one of the longest running women's event as well.
In its early stages, competition was held in open water (including seas, lakes, and rivers) with swimmers diving in off of docks rather than the starting blocks that are used today. The uniforms have also come a long way, especially for the men who have transitioned from the dragging bathing suits they wore in the early 20th Century to the streamlined body suits they wear today. Goggles have also been introduced allowing the swimmers to see underwater without suffering the burning effects of the pool's chlorine. Finally, electronic timing was introduced in the 1908 Olympics and has proven to be invaluable as an objective source for determining who wins and loses races. In 2008 both Michael Phelps and his relay teammate Ryan Lochte, relied on the electronic timing system to determine the winner of races that were much too close for the naked eye to see.
In addition to the technological advances, the Olympic Games have added and dropped various events to the swimming competition. The Butterfly stroke was added in 1956 and women were allowed to compete in events over 800 meters starting in 1968. On the flip side, events like the 100 meter underwater swim and the obstacle swim were dropped early on due to a high amount of danger and a low amount of interest. Today, the swimming competition consists of 17 events (14 individual and 3 relays) as short as the 50 meter and as long as the 10000.
In its early stages, competition was held in open water (including seas, lakes, and rivers) with swimmers diving in off of docks rather than the starting blocks that are used today. The uniforms have also come a long way, especially for the men who have transitioned from the dragging bathing suits they wore in the early 20th Century to the streamlined body suits they wear today. Goggles have also been introduced allowing the swimmers to see underwater without suffering the burning effects of the pool's chlorine. Finally, electronic timing was introduced in the 1908 Olympics and has proven to be invaluable as an objective source for determining who wins and loses races. In 2008 both Michael Phelps and his relay teammate Ryan Lochte, relied on the electronic timing system to determine the winner of races that were much too close for the naked eye to see.
In addition to the technological advances, the Olympic Games have added and dropped various events to the swimming competition. The Butterfly stroke was added in 1956 and women were allowed to compete in events over 800 meters starting in 1968. On the flip side, events like the 100 meter underwater swim and the obstacle swim were dropped early on due to a high amount of danger and a low amount of interest. Today, the swimming competition consists of 17 events (14 individual and 3 relays) as short as the 50 meter and as long as the 10000.