Swimming

sport · olympics · water

Whole body sport. Swimming uses your entire body to move through the water, and it can be done as an individual or as part of a team.

Four main strokes. Competitive swimmers race using butterfly, backstroke, breaststroke, and freestyle, plus a mix called the individual medley.

Team relays. Four swimmers can team up in a relay. In a medley relay, each person swims a different stroke in this order: backstroke, breaststroke, butterfly, then freestyle.

Olympic favorite. Swimming is one of the most popular Olympic sports, with races over many different distances.

Pools and beyond. Races happen in pools or in open water like lakes and the sea.