Watch: Swimming the freestyle
In the freestyle the swimmer maintains a strong and steady flutter kick. The stroke begins with one arm extending forward in line with the shoulder, then coming back toward the center of the body toward the thigh. During recovery the arm is brought back toward the head, keeping the elbow raised above the body. Strokes alternate between arms. The swimmer breathes as needed by turning the head toward the recovering side to take a breath and then exhaling underwater.
Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.
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Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.Learn more about the history and rules of the sport of cricket.
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Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.You can't bend it like Beckham without a little help from physics.Media Editor: Lee Goldstein
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Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.The competition that would become March Madness dates back to the NCAA's first Division I men's basketball tournament in 1939.
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Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.The butterfly stroke begins with the swimmer's arms moving in a windmill fashion from back to front. After entering the water, the hands move down the chest to the hips. The legs are kept together and thrust down like a flipper in a double rhythm matching the motion of the arms into and out of the water. A breath may be taken while the arms are underwater.
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Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.The swimmer maintains speed coming into the wall and executes a forward flip toward the wall. As the swimmer's feet push off the wall, the swimmer executes a half-twist to reorient the body and enter a streamlined position. The hands are held one on top of the other with the head tucked under the arms. Once the momentum of the push-off is lost, the swimmer resumes the stroke.
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Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.; thumbnail © kovop58/Shutterstock.comThe first Olympic Games consisted of a singular event: a footrace.
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Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.The breaststroke begins with the swimmer's arms stretched forward from the body and the hands together while the head is kept underwater and the legs are stretched behind the body with the feet together. The hands move apart at the surface and then pull down, out, and back. During the pull, the torso lifts so that the head briefly breaks the surface, and the swimmer takes a breath before exhaling underwater. As the breath is taken, the feet are drawn up toward the buttocks. Then they kick out and down and come together again with the legs stretched behind the body, propelling the swimmer forward.
