Swimming+styles

=Swimming styles=

When you are in the water, there are many ways in which you can move. In order to move fast, particular swimming styles have been defined. Nowadays there are four official swimming styles, defined by the position of the swimmer relative to the water surface, and the patterns of movements of the arms, legs and heads. A style is also known as a "stroke". But this word can also refer to a single completion of body movements repeated while swimming in the given style. Swimming strokes should create the least possible water resistance; there should be a minimum of splashing so that forward motion is smooth Three of the four swimming styles commonly swum in competitions are regulated by the FINA (International Swimming Federation). These three are: breaststroke, backstroke and butterfly stroke. A fourth competition is for unregulated styles and is called freestyle. Due to the superior speed, most swimmers choose front crawl for freestyle competitions. In fact, front crawl (also called Australian crawl) is the fastest swimming style because the swimming position of the breast allows full flexibility of the arm in the water.Let's analyse in more detail each of the four styles!

A swimming stroke in which a person lies face down in the water and extends the arms in front of the head, then sweeps them both back laterally under the surface of the water while performing a frog kick with legs.

Backstroke
A swimming stroke that resembles the crawl except for the fact that the swimmer lies on his or her back.

Butterfly stroke
It is a swimming stroke swum on the breast, with both arms moving simultaneously. The butterfly kick was developed separately, and is also known as the dolphin. While other styles like the breaststroke, front crawl, or backstroke can be swum easily even by beginners, the butterfly requires a high level of technique. By many people it is considered to be the most difficult style.



Freestyle
It is one of the official swimming competitions according to the rules of FINA. However, it is technically not a style, as there are very few regulations about the way freestyle has to be swum. Most swimmers choose to swim front crawl during freestyle, as this style is generally the fastest (the maximum swimming speed achieved in the front crawl is around 2.17 meters per second). In fact, freestyle is often confused to be the same as front crawl, whereas freestyle means any style.



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- Swimming (introduction) - Why is swimming a healthy sport? - Italian swimming