Wideman
Pools
2565 US
Hwy 67 South
Festus,
MO 63628
636-931-7665
www.widemanpools.com
The Sport of Swimming
Michael Phelps, Ian Thorpe (the Thorpedo), and Ryan
Lockte have been inspiring children and adults alike in the world of swimming.
Ian Thorpe's impressive Olympics career lead to him being remembered and his
swimming style being compared to Michael Phelps and everyone knows how well
Phelps did in Athens and Beijing. The fact that Phelps won nearly every race in
Beijing is proof that training hard and practice can open the doors to whatever
dreams one wants to chase.
In the swimming world, there are many safety issues to
consider. How well of a swimmer is the person? How long have they been
swimming? Can they hold their breath and swim at the same time? How comfortable
do they feel in the water? If the person in question is uncomfortable in the
water without someone else being there to help them or a floatation device,
they should not be in competition until they do gain more confidence or more
talent in swimming.
For the more advanced swimmer, there are several
different strokes one can utilize while swimming for pleasure or competition.
The stroke that is considered the hardest is the butterfly stroke. This is
considered the hardest because it combines a dolphin kick with a windmill arm
movement which begins at the stomach, goes over the head, and ends at the
stomach. It is difficult because these two movements much be timed perfectly to
get the maximum propulsion and the fastest result. The breaststroke is another
hard stroke that swimmers may choose to do. Like the butterfly stroke, this
stroke combines two different movements between the arms and legs. It utilizes a
frog kick and a movement with the hands that begins at the breastbone, reaches
out straight in front of the swimmer, and pulls the water back behind the
swimmer. This arm movement is used once for every two frog kicks that the
swimmer produces.
Freestyle is an easy stroke because it is a flutter
kick combined with an over the head movement while the swimmer is face down the
in the water. The backstroke is the same technique, except the swimmer is
facing up, looking at the ceiling, instead of face down in the water. There are
other strokes, like the dog paddle, the trudgen, the sidestroke, and the crawl,
but these are rarely seen in competition, so they are not taught as frequently
as the other strokes.
In terms of competition, the 2008 Olympics had 17
events in which swimmers competed. The freestyle swim consisted of the 50
meter, 100 meter, 200 meter, 400 meter, and 800 meter for women or the 1500
meter for men. Several of these races were won by Michael Phelps and many world
records were shattered by various swimmers. The backstroke competition was the
100 meter and the 200 meter. The butterfly races consisted of the 100 meter and
the 200 meter. The breaststroke competition held the same races. There were two
individual races of 200 meters and 400 meters, in which the swimmer would
alternate between the strokes, using all four as dictated. There were 3 relay
races, which went 100 meters, 200 meters, and there was a 100 meter medley. The
last race was a marathon race with was 10 kilometers long.
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Ethan has been an online writer for nearly 2 years
now. Not only does this author specialize in sports, finance, and product
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Di Gio which reviews and lists the best Acqua
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Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Ethan_D_Orman
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Wideman
Pools
2565 US
Hwy 67 South
Festus,
MO 63628
636-931-7665
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