Today, when various technologies are developing at an immeasurable speed, viewing from another country is no longer new. Thousands and even millions of spectators are worried about the athletes. It seems that swimming as a sport was born recently. Basically, it is. Of course, people learned to stay on the water and even move on it quite a long time ago, but swimming became a sport later. Among other things, it is worth noting that it is useful for the body. An excellent method for losing weight is used by many as the easiest. Now this sport is gaining popularity. Beautiful artistic swimming, spectacular freestyle competitions cannot be ignored. When and where did swimming as a sport originate and become so popular? What types and styles are there? What is the characteristic of swimming as a sport? You will learn all this from this article.

Origin

Scientists have found that swimming originated in ancient times. As a sport or as a necessity - is unknown. Drawings have been found on the walls of the caves, which presumably date back to 5000 BC. e. Ancient people noticed that many animals were able to move on water and adopted this ability. As you might guess, the first style was the doggy style of swimming. It existed for quite a long time, until it was replaced by breaststroke. And that became the basis for all subsequent innovations. In ancient civilizations, swimming began to gain particular popularity. The first written mention dates back to 2000 BC. e. It is also known that in ancient Rome, swimming became the basis for the training of athletes, including those who participated in Olympic Games. But the history of swimming as a sport dates back to the turn of the XV-XVI centuries. It was then that the first competitions began to be held.

Thus, swimming appeared quite a long time ago. Even ancient people used it to move on water. Swimming developed, new styles appeared, and it gradually became a sport. Oddly enough, the history of the creation of swimming as a sport resembles running. It was also used in the beginning as a necessity, and only after a large amount of time did running become a sport. Swimming is one of the most famous and popular activities today. Many use it as an exercise for weight loss and recovery.

History of styles

As already mentioned, at the very beginning, when swimming was born, it had only one style - “dog-like”. However, then breaststroke appeared, on the basis of which new types began to be invented. The next style was the side. Legs when swimming resembled scissors. Then people began to swim with seedlings, which made it possible to develop a greater speed compared to others. Further, John Trugen in 1783 invented a style named after his last name. Then the competitions were already quite popular, and the new method allowed many world records to be set, including its creator. Then, finally, the rabbit appeared. He was "brought" to England by Richard Cavill from Australia. Soon the style was recognized as the fastest, which to this day is. Today it is he who is very popular.

Crawl

The crawl is on the stomach. When using it, the left and right parts of the body move alternately. The arms stroke along the axis in turn while the legs rise and fall. Difficult technique compared to other styles. The swimmer's face should be in the water and rise beyond it only to take a breath. Crawl is considered to be the fastest type of swimming. At competitions, there is the concept of "freestyle", in which athletes have the right to swim the way they want, but everyone chooses the crawl.

Due to the fact that the head is lowered under the water, the hands can make large strokes, and this is positively displayed at speed. If you compare the crawl with the first one, that's why it's faster. When compared with the butterfly, the latter also loses due to the fact that the hands mainly work, and the body does not help. Uniform acceleration, which is only possible in freestyle, helps athletes cover long distances at speed without getting tired.

It turns out that the crawl was born a long time ago. It was originally used by the Indians. And Europe met him in 1844, when the Americans defeated the English swimmers. The defeated but proud athletes did not want to use the new style, as they considered it "barbaric" due to the large amount of splash. The history of the emergence of swimming as a sport, in particular, styles, had such strange moments.

After the Australian rabbit, the American rabbit appeared, thanks to improvements. It is the latter that today is the very “freestyle”. The initial position in the freestyle is “at attention”, the swimmers are turned face down, legs are straightened, arms are extended upwards.

Breaststroke

As already mentioned, it was the breaststroke that became the transition from the doggy style and practically the basis for all the rest. Swimming as a sport would not exist without it. The look has been around for a long time: the first image of people using a breaststroke-like style was discovered in the Egyptian "Swimmers' Cave". The painting dates back to around 9000 BC. e. There is also a well-known Assyrian drawing of a soldier using this method, but the image was created between 1292-1225. BC e. Dane Nicolas Vinman in 1538 was one of the first to describe the breaststroke in his book. The well-known "frog kick" with legs began to be used only in the 19th century.

At various breaststroke competitions, it was Russian and Soviet athletes who often won. The style was included in the Olympic Games only in 1904, then the swim took place at 402 m, only men participated. Then swimming as the beginning of its development. Already at the next games, the distance was reduced to 200 m. Since 1924, competitions for women began to be held at the same distance. And in 1968, athletes began to compete in the 100 m.

Butterfly

Butterfly is a belly swim, one of the hardest strokes. Tiresome and complicated. The name comes from the word "butterfly". Indeed, some similarities can be found, mainly due to the characteristic strokes with the hands. Unlike the front crawl, the arms stroke at the same time, lifting the body above the water. At the same time, take a deep breath. The legs, together with the pelvis, move in the form of waves, giving acceleration. Although the execution is one of the most difficult, the butterfly is still the second fastest style. Its main difference from the front crawl is that the acceleration in it is uneven due to sharp strokes with the hands.

Interestingly, the butterfly is an improved breaststroke. At first, swimmers realized that for more speed it makes sense to raise your hands above the water. The movement of the body and legs was subsequently replaced with a more comfortable and natural one.

As already mentioned, the technique in the butterfly is extremely complex and requires proper execution. This is what many beginners fear. Learning to combine movements with arms and legs, as well as inhaling with exhaling, is quite difficult, so many go over to crawl. If in most other styles technically correct execution is important, then in butterfly, in addition, physical strength is important.

Difficult is the wave-like movement of the body, which is present (if we take into account only known styles) only in butterfly. Therefore, such swimming as a sport for children is not the best option.

Equipment and regulations

For any style of swimming, the equipment is the same: a cap, goggles, swimming trunks or (for men or women, respectively), wetsuits are also often used. They began to appear in the 2000s. and are divided into types: from the neck to the ankle, from the neck to the knees, wet pants, shorts for swimming. In 2010, FINA (International Swimming Federation) banned synthetics. Therefore, now only textiles are used.

Swimming as a sport today is held in 50- or 25-meter pools. Many competitions include breaststroke and crawl swims. For example, at the Summer Olympics, the World Championship, the Universiade, the World Cup. The latter is held annually.

Regulations:

• crawl (aka freestyle): 50 m, 100 m, 200 m, 400 m, 800 m, 1500 m;
• butterfly: 50 m, 100 m, 200 m;
• breaststroke: 50 m, 100 m, 200 m;
• Backstroke: 50m, 100m, 200m.

What to choose

Those who are just starting to swim, not necessarily professionally, should try crawl. But for people who don't even know how to float, you need to start with the doggy style. It is he, if you look, that underlies all the others. Then, accordingly, you need to move on to crawl or breaststroke, where you can stop.

Pool or sea

If you choose between the sea and the pool, then there can be no definite answer. But the first option is not available to most Russians or is possible only in the summer.

If you want to swim professionally, you should go to the coach in the pool. There you can train all year round and easily learn how to hold on and move on the water from scratch. However, for amateur activities, you can choose open water bodies. So, in the sea, waves and wind create natural barriers, and water has a healing effect. If you need to pay for a ticket in the pool, then open water bodies are in the public domain. Everyone chooses according to their abilities and preferences. However, the artificially created pool is safe, in most cases lifeguards are provided there. And in open water, there is a chance of not coping with the current and drowning. Combination is ideal.

Like this interesting story sports. Swimming is very popular, but there are other disciplines to which it is directly related. The following are the two most popular ones.

Triathlon

Swimming, cycling, running as one sport are called triathlon. The name speaks for itself. The sport appeared not so long ago, its beginning goes back to 1920-1930, when an analogue of today's La Course des Debrouillards triathlon was held in France. At that time, running took 3 km, cycling - 12, and swimming was carried out across the Marne Canal. Unfortunately, there was no mention of triathlon from the 1930s until 1974, when in the USA a group of fellow athletes did not unite and form a club where everyone trained together. They represented several sports, namely running, cycling and swimming. Also, friends began to organize competitions. Thus, the first competitions were held on September 25, 1974, 46 athletes participated in them. At first, the cycling race took 180.2 km, the run - 42.2 km; swimming - 3.86 km.

The participants argued for a long time about which sport requires maximum endurance. As a result, an article was found, which said that the cyclist Eddy Merckx had the highest rate of oxygen consumption. And this sport was recognized as requiring maximum endurance. Triathlon has become so popular that many are seriously considering including it in the Olympic Games. Competitions are usually held according to the standard: 1.5 km / 40 km / 10 km. The standard was developed by triathlon racing director Jim Curl in the mid-80s.

Synchronized swimming

Perhaps, synchronized swimming as a sport is one of the most beautiful disciplines. Usually only women participate, but recently men have also joined. The main thing in synchronized swimming is a well-coordinated performance by the team, combining diving and jumping out. Wherein exercise stress colossal. You need to spend a lot of time in training to achieve high results. Russian athletes are leading in this sport, all rivals are equal to their training.

However, in addition to the standard technical and physical difficulties, there is also a special one: it is quite difficult to breathe during a performance. Constant, and often even long dives under water require a large amount of time. In order to protect the lungs, athletes wear special clips on their noses.

But where does synchronized swimming as a sport originate from?

Story

As you know, a huge number of disciplines were created in Greece. And synchronized swimming originates from there, then groups of boys and girls led round dances on the water. Only at the end of the XIX century. It was the beginning of synchronized swimming. Then in England, groups of swimmers were created, men who performed various figures in the water. And the first competition was organized in 1891 in Berlin. Then artistic swimming, as it was then called, began its development. And in 1952, demonstration performances took place at the Olympics, after which the sport was named synchronized swimming. In the same year, an appropriate committee was created in FINA. And in 1958 the first international competitions were held. Synchronized swimming was included in the program of the Olympic Games only in 1984.

Swimming as a sport is rich and varied. History and development go back to ancient times. Today, swimming is gaining popularity among all the inhabitants of the earth. Everyone can find what they like best, as there are a lot of species. most beautiful, triathlon is rich in different disciplines, and ordinary competitions remain classics. Many swim amateurs, parents give their children to the section. The history of swimming as a sport continues its active development today.

1. Introduction.

2. History of sailing.

2.1. History of swimming as a sport

3. Methods, system and rules for conducting swimming competitions

4. Types of swimming

4.1. Freestyle

4.2. On the back

4.3. Breaststroke

4.4. Butterfly

4.5. Integrated swimming

5. Conclusion.

Bibliography.

1. Introduction.

Swimming is a very beautiful and exciting sport. In addition, this is a very useful and at the same time enjoyable sport, as it strengthens all muscle groups, and also helps to relax the body and the likelihood of injury is quite small here.

Swimming is also one of the effective means of hardening a person, contributing to the formation of persistent hygiene skills. The temperature of the water is always lower than the temperature of the human body, therefore, when a person is in the water, his body radiates 50-80% more heat than in the air. Bathing and swimming bring up resistance to colds. If swimming is carried out in a natural reservoir, then the natural factors of nature - the sun and air - also have a hardening effect. Swimming eliminates posture disorders, flat feet, harmoniously develops almost all muscle groups - especially shoulder girdle, arms, chest, abdomen, back and legs. Swimming perfectly trains the activity of the cardiovascular and respiratory systems.

2. History of sailing.

Swimming has an unusually long history. Even the Ancient Slavs held swimming competitions, their essence was as follows: people swam in the river and caught fish with their hands, the one who brought the largest fish to the shore was considered the winner. These competitions are not at all similar to modern ones, but nevertheless, the ability to swim was of decisive importance in them. The history of the development of swimming has very long roots.

In ancient times, the cult of water was among all peoples. People revered the gods who commanded the waters (Poseidon, Neptune).

The earliest images showing people swimming in ways similar to breaststroke and front crawl are from the 4th 2nd centuries. BC. The art of swimming was greatly appreciated. Every year in Hermione, in honor of the holiday dedicated to the god of the seas, and since 1300, swimming competitions have always been held at the Games held on the Isthma at the sanctuary of Poseidon every two years.

In the Middle Ages, a knight at his initiation had to demonstrate his ability to swim in armor. The first amateur swimming school was founded in 1785 in Paris. In Russia, such an institution first appeared in 1825 in St. Petersburg.

2.1. History of the development of swimming as a sport

The first international swimming competitions took place in 1889 in Budapest, the capital of Romania. Swimming made its debut at the modern Olympics already at the first of them in 1896 in Athens.

Swimming became especially popular at the end of the 19th century. In 1890, the first European swimming championship was held. Since 1896, swimming has been included in the program of the Olympic Games.

In 1908, the International Federation of Amateur Swimming (FINA) was created.In 1973, this organization united 96 national federations.

In Russia, swimming in ancient times developed mainly as applied view, and only at the end of the 19th and beginning of the 20th century did it become separate view sports.

The first major swimming competitions in Russia were held at the Russian Olympics in Kyiv in 1913. They went down in history as the first Russian swimming championship. It was attended by about 60 people. The second Russian Olympiad, which included swimming, was held in 1914 in Riga. About 70 swimmers from Moscow, St. Petersburg, Kyiv and other cities came to the competition. Sports results in swimming at this Olympiad were also low.

In 1922, the Dolphin Swimming Society was formed, which soon became a kind of center for sports swimming in the country.

In 1928, the All-Union Spartakiad took place in Moscow, which contributed to the further spread and development of swimming in our country. In the period 1926-1929. Soviet athletes hold their first international swimming competitions.

Soviet swimmers took part in the Olympic Games in 1952 for the first time. They performed weakly, only M. Gavrish took the 6th place in the 200m breaststroke final.

The first participation of Soviet swimmers in the European Championship falls on 1954. At that time, women were very inferior in terms of development to men. Only men took part in this championship. The greatest success in the international sports arena of Soviet swimmers falls on the 60s. Speaking at the Olympic Games in Tokyo, which were held in 1964, G. Prozumenshchikova, a 16-year-old schoolgirl from Sevastopol, became the first Olympic champion swimming 200m breaststroke.

Galina Prozumenshchikova

Between 1966 and 1968 on the account of the Soviet swimmers was 1st place in Europe and 3rd place in the world. In general, during the period from 1947 to 1975, our swimmers set new world records 41 times, 128 European records, and also won at the Olympic Games: 1 gold, 13 silver and 26 bronze medals and about 40 European champion titles.

3. Methods, system and rules for holding competitions

Swimming methods and distances

In swimming, competitions are held and records of the world, Europe and Russia (women and men) are recorded in the following ways and distances:

freestyle - 50, 100, 200, 400, 800, 1500 m;

on the back - 50, 100, 200 m;

breaststroke - 50, 100, 200 m;

butterfly - 50, 100, 200 m;

integrated swimming - 100 (only in the pool 25 m), 200, 400 m;

freestyle relay - 4x100, 4x200 m;

combined relay - 4x100 m.

Pool length

According to the first rules for swimming competitions (adopted by FINA in 1908), world records could be recorded in any pools that were at least 25 yards long. But at the same time, official international swimming competitions could only be held in pools 50 and 100 meters long. Since the mid-1980s. winter and spring swimming competitions in 25-meter pools have become very popular.

Swimming competitions are held in indoor or outdoor pools 25 or 50 meters long, with a depth at the start of at least 1.2 m. Number of lanes: eight (six for 25-meter pools).The optimum water temperature is +26C.

Level 3 competitions are allowed to be held in non-standard and floating pools, open water bodies. In the presence of a current, half of the distance must be overcome against the current. Competition distances of 25, 50 and 100 m are allowed to be overcome by any style, arbitrarily changing it.

Swimming competition system

Since 2001, official swimming competitions have been held according to a system consisting of preliminary, semi-final and final heats. Preliminary heats are held in the morning, final and semi-final in the evening.

At distances of 50, 100, and 200 meters, according to the results of the morning preliminary heats, 16 participants are selected, who (in the evening of the same day) participate in two semi-finals, where 8 participants in the final (which is held the next day) are determined.

At longer distances and in relay races in the morning preliminary heats, 8 participants in the final are immediately determined (for distances of 800 and 1500 meters, the final is held the next day, for the rest in the evening of the same day).

If, according to the results of the preliminary (or semi-final) swims, the athletes show the same result, a re-swim is held, in the final swim, the participants who show the same result share the place.

General rules.

1. The start is carried out by jumping from the starting table or pushing the legs from the wall of the pool when starting from the water (track numbers are counted from right to left).

2. After a series of short whistles from the referee, the swimmers take off their training suits. After a long whistle, athletes take their places on the starting tables (so that both feet are at the same distance from the front edge of the table) or in the water near the pool wall. In the absence of a referee, the preparatory commands are given by the starter.

3. After making sure that all participants are ready to start, the starter fires a shot, which is the executive signal.

4. If one or more participants start prematurely, then all participants in the swim return and the start is repeated. On the first and second false starts, the starter returns. After the third false start of the heat, all swimmers who started before the starting signal are disqualified.

6. In the relay, the participants of the first stage start according to the rules of the competition. Participants in subsequent stages of the relay race must take the start so that their legs are separated from the starting table (starting wall) no earlier than a member of their team finishing the previous stage touches the finish shield.

4. Types of swimming

4.1. Freestyle.

Swimming freestyle a swimming discipline in which a swimmer is allowed to swim in any way, arbitrarily changing them along the course. At the same time, over the entire distance, with the exception of a segment of no more than 15 m after the start or turn, "any part of the swimmer's body must break the surface of the water." But already in the 1920s. most athletes began to choose a faster crawl as a freestyle.

Crawl (English "crawl" "crawl") swimming style on the chest, during the movement of which the athlete makes wide strokes along the body alternately with the right and left hands, and at the same time constantly performs kicks in the vertical plane (up and down). The athlete's face is almost constantly in the water; periodically, during one of the strokes, he turns his head to the side, lifting his face out of the water in order to take a breath.

4.2. Backstroke.

This style of swimming is similar to the reverse crawl. Here, as in the crawl, the athlete performs alternate strokes with his hands (but: the arm is extended straight over the water, and not bent, as in the crawl), and at the same time performs alternate kicks in the vertical plane (up and down). The athlete's face is almost constantly (with the exception of the start and turns) above the water.

Backstroke It's not the fastest swimming style, but it can swim faster than, for example, breaststroke. And this is the only style of swimming in which the start is made from the water. The athlete, facing the bedside table, holds on to the starting handrails with both hands, resting his feet on the edge of the pool.

The backstroke was first included as a separate event in the 1900 Olympics.

4.3. Breaststroke

The name of this swimming style comes from the French word "brass" "hand". Breaststroke is a swimming style on the chest, during which the athlete performs simultaneous and symmetrical strokes with his hands, as well as simultaneous and symmetrical pushes with his legs in a horizontal plane below the surface of the water.

This is the oldest and slowest swimming style. In the Egyptian "Cave of the Swimmers" there are cave paintings depicting swimming people who, apparently, moved in the water in much the same way as modern athletes swim breaststroke.

At the beginning of the 20th century, even professional athletes swam breaststroke, keeping their heads above the water. Only in the 1930s. many swimmers (including representatives Soviet school) began to lower their heads into the water while stretching their arms forward.

In 1904, breaststroke was included in the program of the Olympic Games in the form of a swim over a distance of 402 meters, only men were allowed to compete. At the next games, it was replaced by the 200 meters, which has been present at every Olympics since then. Since 1924, the 200-meter race among women has been held at the Olympics, and since 1968, the 100-meter race has been added to the 200-meter race for both men and women.

4.4. Butterfly.

The name of this swimming style is translated from English as "butterfly" (colloquial name in Russia "dolphin"). When swimming with a butterfly, the athlete performs simultaneous and symmetrical movements of the left and right parts of the body. The swimmer makes a powerful wide stroke with his hands (at the same time top part his body rises above the water), while simultaneously performing symmetrical wave-like kicks "from the pelvis". Butterfly is the most energy-intensive swimming style, it requires maximum endurance and perfect mastery of technique.

This swimming style is the youngest. Butterfly is one of the most difficult swimming methods and is considered the second fastest after the crawl. Butterfly "came into the world" in 1935, and at that time it was considered simply the newest variety of breaststroke. Only almost 20 years later, in 1953, the butterfly was officially recognized as an independent swimming style.

4.5. Integrated swimming

Complex swimming is a discipline in which a swimmer overcomes equal parts of the distance with butterfly, backstroke, breaststroke and freestyle.
The program of the Olympic Games includes two distances of integrated swimming, both for men and women - 200 meters and 400 meters. At a distance of 200 meters, participants swim in a 50-meter pool for 50 meters with each style, in a swim twice as long as 100 meters with each style.

The 200m individual medley was included in the program of the Games for the first time. 1968 Olympics in Mexico City, but then it was excluded. The distance returned to the Olympic program in 1984 in Los Angeles. 400-meter race appeared at the Games in 1964 in Tokyo.

4.6. combined relay

Swimming relay, during which four team members alternately swim in four different styles. The order of styles differs from the order in individual medley:

1. On the back
2. Breaststroke
3. Butterfly
4. Freestyle (crawl)

The program of the Olympic Games includes one 4x100 meter medley relay for both men and women. She first appeared in the program of the Games on 1960 Olympics in Rome. There is also a 4x50 meter medley relay, held in both long and short pools, not included in the Olympic program.

5. Conclusion

Training of high-class swimmers capable of achieving victories in major international competitions is carried out in many countries of the world. Over the past decade, swimmers from the USA, Australia, Russia, Germany, China, Ukraine, Hungary, Ireland, South Africa, Finland, Canada, Spain, Japan, New Zealand, Belgium, Costa Rica, Poland, Sweden have become champions of the Olympic Games and the world , Netherlands, France.

The work of the Russian Swimming Federation is perceived with satisfaction in Europe and in the world. The fact of recognition of the efforts of the Federation in the international arena is the election in 2000 of G.P. Alyoshin Vice President of FINA. He is also President of the Russian Swimming Federation and Vice-President of the Russian NOC. A sign of the authority of Russia in sports swimming is decision about holding in Moscow in 2002 the World Championship on "short" water. Today, a number of names of athletes trained recently are known all over the world: A. Popov, D. Pankratov, Ya. Klochkova, R. Sludnov, I. Chervinsky, D. Silantyev and others. Over the past three years in Russia, 13 athletes have received the title "Honored Master of Sports", 55 swimmers became masters of sports of international class.

Finishing the work, I would like to draw the following conclusions: swimming has been known to man since ancient times: images of people found during excavations, swimming in ways similar to crawl and breaststroke, date back to the 4th millennium BC. Swimming develops muscular system, mobility in the joints, improves coordination of movements, strengthens the nervous system, improves metabolism, expands the functionality of the respiratory and cardiovascular systems. There are recreational, sports and applied swimming.

Health-improving swimming is one of the forms of mass physical culture and health-improving work with the population. Systematic swimming exercises have a hardening effect, contribute to the prevention of respiratory diseases, improve physical development.

Sports swimming is one of the most popular sports. Training in sports swimming should start from the age of 5, from 9 years old it is allowed to participate in competitions.

Bibliography.

1. Gordon S. M., "Technique of sports swimming", M., "Physical culture and sport", 1978.

2. Materials from the site http://www.sport.iatp.org.ua/

3. Firsov Z.P. Swimming for everyone. M., 1983.

4. Wikipedia: Swimming.

6. http://www.fizkult-ura.ru/node/211

I started swimming at the age of 14. Not far from the house there was a swimming pool and it was possible to train almost daily. The main motivation for doing this kind of sport was that before I could not swim at all and I wanted to overcome my fear of depth. The pool where I started my swimming lessons had 6 lanes and a lane length of 25 meters.

The first few months of training took me to master the basic elements of each of the 4 basic swimming styles: freestyle, breaststroke, butterfly and backstroke. The basic exercises for each style are extremely important for the formation of the correct technique, so the coach devoted a lot of time to working on them.

For example, for a rabbit, the basic ones are the following exercises:

• Leg movements, holding the plank in your hands. The swimmer takes the plank in his hands, stretching them out in front of him, and begins to move his legs. The legs move in opposite directions: one goes up, the other goes down, then vice versa. Leg movements only slightly accelerate forward movement, but they allow you to balance the position of the body. The movement begins with a slight bend of the leg at the knee and then a sharp swing down, like hitting the ball. In this case, the leg can be slightly bent inward, closer to the central axis of the body. Then the straight leg returns to its original position.
• Hand movements, holding the plank between the legs. The swimmer holds a plank between his legs in the area inner sides hips, alternately working with the left and right hands. While one hand is making a stroke, the other is carried forward over the water. Hand strokes serve as the basis of the driving force (the main effort during the stroke is made by the shoulder, the movements of the palms and forearms should only complement the movements of the shoulders). Each stroke can be divided into three phases: towards you, away from you, forward. A common beginner's mistake is to swing forward with a tense arm, or to move the arm away from the body to the side or up, so that the hand is above the elbow. As a result, body tension increases and water resistance increases. In addition, beginners often forget to turn the shoulder forward so that the arm reaches as far as possible in the direction of movement during the swing. During the dive, the brush can be rotated thumb down (to reduce turbulence around the arm in the water) or evenly horizontal (so that the stroke starts at the same time as the dive). In the first phase of the stroke, the arm acts like a wing and moves in the water more slowly than the swimmer himself. In the second phase, the arm acts like a paddle and moves faster than the swimmer.

After they have been mastered basic exercises styles, it's time to do exercises to train breathing technique, correct body position in the water, as well as for starting jumps from the bedside table. By combining the basic techniques, you can get the correct, and most importantly, effective crawl technique.

Having mastered the basic technique of swimming in various styles, I decided to participate in city competitions. And although it was not possible to achieve special results, it was a good experience. I saw how the competitions are held, I learned how the athlete feels, standing on the bedside table before the start, and I also understood that one should train hard in order to achieve results.

Over the following months, I trained 3 times a week, swimming an average of 2.5 kilometers per workout and gradually increasing this distance. Gradually, the results improved, I liked swimming more and more. The only problem for me at that time was swimming butterfly. This style was given to me with great difficulty due to the fact that I could not master correct technique. Only after a while it turned out to get closer to a relatively correct technique. Unfortunately, due to the circumstances, I had to stop swimming for a long time and resume them only in the 3rd year of the university.

At the moment I am swimming to keep myself in good physical shape. My goal is not high results, but good health and tone. Training takes place 2 times a week in the evening. When training, I try to adhere to the following tips:

• try to swim as much as possible without stopping. Don't talk to neighbors. You must be tired from swimming. The session must be at least 30 minutes long.
• memorize the length of the swim segments (or the number of swim pools), and try to swim a little more after 1-2 sessions. Ideally, you should swim all 30 minutes non-stop, but you can change the speed and style of swimming. Go to the pool should be at least 2 times a week, preferably more.
• if you are not swimming alone on the track, keep to the right. If your group swims not on one lane, but on several, choose the lane where people with the same swimming preparedness as you swim, so as not to interfere with good swimmers and not frighten bad swimmers.
• when swimming with a breaststroke, it is very important to push with the legs with maximum force - the legs are bent freely, the feet are turned “on themselves”, the knees are slightly apart and the legs, straightening and connecting, should make a powerful push, so that you feel tired in the muscles of the legs.
• You should not swim on a full stomach. Eating is recommended to be done at least an hour before the start of the workout.

I visit the pool mainly in the evening. The approximate training program at the moment is as follows.

» Swimming

The history of the development of swimming, swimming styles

Swimming is a very beautiful and exciting sport. In addition, this is a very useful and at the same time enjoyable sport, as it strengthens all muscle groups, and also helps to relax the body and the likelihood of injury is quite small here.

The history of the development of swimming has very long roots.
In ancient times, the cult of water was among all peoples. People revered the gods who commanded the waters (Poseidon, Neptune).
The earliest images showing people swimming in ways similar to breaststroke and front crawl date back to the 4th - 2nd centuries. BC. The art of swimming was greatly appreciated. Every year in Hermione, in honor of the holiday dedicated to the god of the seas, and since 1300, swimming competitions have always been held at the Games held on the Isthma at the sanctuary of Poseidon every two years.

The historian Herodotus described the feat of the Greek diver Scyllis, who sank in 478 BC. e. Persian fleet. In a storm, he swam up to the enemy ships and cut the anchor ropes holding them, which caused them to crash on the rocks. Returning, the hero swam 5 km. and often dived so as not to be seen by the Persians. In honor of the feat of Scillis, his compatriots erected a statue of him at Delphi.

The ability to swim well was very revered in the days of the Roman Empire. Roman troops had specially trained detachments on ships, whose task was to repair the underwater part of the ships and naval reconnaissance.
In the Middle Ages, a knight at his initiation had to demonstrate his ability to swim in armor. The first amateur swimming school was founded in 1785 in Paris. In Russia, such an institution first appeared in 1825 in St. Petersburg.

The history of the development of swimming as a sport

First international swimming competitions took place in 1889 in the capital of Romania, the city of Budapest. Swimming made its debut at the modern Olympics already at the first of them in 1896 in Athens.
In 1908, the International Federation of Amateur Swimming (FINA) was created.
This type The sport was constantly developing, new high-speed styles of swimming appeared.
In 1887, at the first official British competitions, swimmers used only breaststroke on the side without taking the hands out of the water - the oldest way. The first records for long and short distances were set by the breaststroke. This method was also described in 1538 by the Dane N. Binman. Probably, this style of swimming was adopted from the frog at one time. For a long time, this species was called that - swimming "like a frog." In the 19th century this method is called breaststroke.

At the 1928 Olympics in Amsterdam, the Cuban I. Indelfonso won. He showed the highest result, thanks to strokes with his hands to the hips. In 1954, the Soviet swimmer M. Petrusevich set a world record by swimming part of the distance under water. Thus, a diving breaststroke with a stroke of hands to the hips appeared - a high-speed version of the classic. In 1957, due to changes in the rules, it was banned.

In the mid-30s of the twentieth century. a new style of swimming has appeared - butterfly, so named because of the resemblance to the movements of the wings of a butterfly. At official competitions, the American Jimmy Higgins swam in this way for the first time in 1935 and set a world record at a distance of 100 m, showing a time of 1 min 10.8 s. In the same year, the Soviet sailor Semyon Boychenko broke his record by swimming the same distance in 1 minute and 8 seconds.

At the 1948 Olympics, the athlete who swam breaststroke in the final competition showed the worst result. After that, FINA divided the breaststroke and butterfly competitions.
In the same years, the high-speed butterfly - dolphin - was established: instead of leg movements in the breaststroke technique, the athlete began to perform wave-like movements with his whole body, including his legs. For the first time this method, which differed unusually high speed, showed the American D. Sieg in 1935. In 1953, using this method, the Hungarian Györde Tumpek set a world record. Since then, athletes began to use only a high-speed variety of butterfly.

crawl style

At the end of the nineteenth century. appeared fastest swimming style- crawl. It combines short arm strokes and lateral vigorous leg movements with slight flexion and extension at the knee. The Australians borrowed this type from their neighbors from the nearest archipelagos. A. Wickham, a native of the Solomon Islands, was the first to demonstrate the crawl at competitions. Wickham already in 1898 swam almost modern crawl, but due to the fact that by the end of the distance he was exhausted, his method was not very popular then. In the future, the crawl swimming style improved. Soon, the great American swimmer, world record holder and five-time Olympic champion Johnny Weissmuller 1922 - 1940 His result at a distance of 100 m (57.4 s) remained unsurpassed for 10 years. From 1924 to 1934

Swimming competition

The four main swimming styles that appear in competition are back crawl, front crawl, butterfly (dolphin) and breaststroke. At official chest crawl competitions (freestyle), both men and women perform at distances of 50, 100, 200, 400, 800 and 1500 meters, swim on their backs at 100 and 200 meters. Breaststroke and butterfly swim at distances of 100 and 200 m.
Swimming - second after athletics sport by representation in the Olympic program, by the number of medals played.

Swimming is one of the most valuable natural human skills. Being in the natural element for himself, the swimmer develops physically, strengthens the immune system and, overcoming distances, struggles with his insecurities. Swimming as a sport appeared with the development of civilizations and is still a spectacular and exciting competition. Over time, directions, methods of navigation stood out. Swimming pools for holding international competitions became more modern every year, children's sports developed. Engaging in this unusual sport has firmly entered the rich life of a person, helping him to form stable life skills.

Sailing history

Since ancient times, water has attracted humanity with its beauty, purity, people wanted to become part of the elements. IN Ancient Greece, as well as Rome, the warriors knew how to swim across stormy rivers, and in Egypt, the inscriptions of the first trainer who taught children and bathed with them, showing them the first exercises, have been preserved. The Slavs also did not stand aside, the first swimming competitions were held on rivers and reservoirs, the winner was the one who brought large prey to the shores: big fish.

The history of the emergence of swimming as a sport dates back to the end of the 19th century. In 1786, the first sport school, almost half a century later, the same institution opens in St. Petersburg. The first international competitions were not far away: they started in 1889 in Hungary, and since the beginning of the 20th century, swimming has already been included in the programs of the Olympic Games.

In the USSR, the beginning of the 20th century was marked by the holding of the first official major competitions, in 1913 in Ukraine, and in 1914 in Latvia. Sports results at that time were not high, but the beginning of the development of Russian, and then Soviet swimming was laid.

In 1922, swimmers from the USSR were united by the Dolphin community, which became the first swimming organization. In the mid-30s of the 20th century, our athletes began to successfully compete in international heats, and Soviet sports swimming was developing at a rapid pace. In 1952, swimmers participate in the Olympic competitions, so far they are not very successful, but the main successes are ahead.

The first serious victory in women's swimming was won by a schoolgirl from the Crimea, Galina Prozumenshchikova. She became the Olympic champion in Japan in 1964, swimming the 200m breaststroke.

Until now, the history of Russian, as well as Soviet navigation in Russia has developed at different rates: there have been victories and defeats. However, Soviet and Russian swimmers have enough cups, medals and championship titles to count swimming as a truly Russian sport.

Swimming and health

• strengthens internal organs and their work: cardiac, vascular and nervous systems (eliminates nervousness), breathing;
• promotes the growth of adolescents, since while sliding on the water, the spine is unloaded and stretched;
• hardens the body, there is an improvement in the processes of thermoregulation, thereby increasing the resistance of the body systems to adverse environmental factors;
• prevents stagnation in the veins and arteries, contributing to the return of venous blood to the heart;
• promotes weight loss through active physical activity;
• develops the lungs, stimulating air exchange in them;
• aligns posture, due to the release of intervertebral discs from the load.

Contraindications

Unfortunately, this famous sport still has several contraindications that you need to listen to when visiting the pool:

• acute diseases of the spine and pain in it;
• viral and fungal diseases, burns;
• infectious and pulmonary diseases;
• dysfunction of the brain;
• epilepsy, convulsions.

Pregnancy in the last stages can be an obstacle to hard training, but as an improvement of the body, in agreement with the doctor, it is allowed.

Kinds

The IOC classification distinguishes four official types of sports Olympic swimming. In fact, there are many more, with new ones appearing every year. Olympic medals played in the following types of swimming.

1. Sports - competitions are held in pools of 50 or 25 m at a distance of 50 m to 1.5 km or in open water at a distance of 5-25 km or more. The distance must be overcome in the chosen way: crawl, breaststroke, butterfly or backstroke.

2. Synchronized is a relatively young sport that includes elements of dance and a musical part. Teams of several girls perform compulsory and demonstration programs, which are evaluated by a jury of 10 people. Russian athletes managed to win the most world awards in this form.

3. Water polo is a team sport. This is a team ball game in which 2 teams of seven people participate. The game, the purpose of which is to throw the ball into the opponent's goal, lasts four periods of eight minutes. During the match, only the goalkeeper has the right to take the ball with both hands, the players only send it to each other.

4. Diving: a spectacular event. Athletes perform diving from a tower or springboard, and the judges evaluate their work on a scale of difficulty from 1.2 to 4 points. The run-up, the clarity of repulsion from the springboard, the quality of the turn in the air and the entry into the water are evaluated. Athletes jump both alone and in pairs.

There are several more types of swimming as an official sport that have long had applied or other significance.

1. Applied - used in many areas of human life, in which it is impossible to do without the ability to stay on the water. It is good to swim and dive: the prerogatives of rescuers, fishermen, geologists, sailors, and other military personnel. An important part of applied swimming is the rescue of drowning people, when the rescuer must be a top-class swimmer, since human life depends on his skills.

2. Wellness - familiar to people who monitor the state of their body. Its healing, tonic, restorative and hardening functions are known. This is the part physical education person from infancy to old age. A lot of factors that have a beneficial effect on the human body are known, and not all of them have yet been finally studied.

3. Underwater - is developing rapidly thanks to new technologies that allow you to breathe freely in the water and the discovery of new places where you can dive. Freediving is gaining popularity - overcoming a given distance by athletes while holding their breath. Or sports diving, which has in its arsenal such categories as an obstacle course, a night swim, and lifting loads. Many travelers began to engage in underwater tourism, hunting, photography. Pass under water sport competitions: hockey, wrestling, rugby, etc.

4. Open water competitions have become widespread, not only professionals, but also amateurs take part in them. The task of the participants is to swim a considerable distance without a break. Rivers, lakes and seas can serve as basins. Such competitions are held at different times of the year and in different countries. Swims across the English Channel and the Bosphorus are popular; in Russia, competitions are held on Lake Baikal. In these swims, participants show perseverance as a result of training and strength of mind. Sometimes you have to fight difficult weather conditions at a distance to the finish line.

Ways

Throughout the history of the development of swimming, methods began to stand out, each of which is currently included in the program of international competitions.

1. Freestyle - the name speaks for itself. Previously, it was declared that a swimmer can overcome the distance in any style that suits him, and this will be considered freestyle. But the crawl turned out to be the fastest (from the English. crawl- crawl), so freestyle swimming lately means crawl. It is no coincidence that the name of the style is associated with this English word: the swimmer stretches out on the water, slides or crawls on its surface. At the same time, he makes uniform wide strokes with his hands, and with his feet the “scissors” movement. In the crawl, complete coordination of movements is extremely important, as well as proper measured breathing.

The crawl is the most common way to move around the water surface and is very spectacular. The last swims of athletes overcoming distances of 50, 100, 200 m deserve attention, the speed in these segments develops significant. The record was set by the Brazilian Cesar Cielo (50 m - 20, 91 seconds), and has not been broken for 8 years.

2. The crawl on the back is almost the same as the regular crawl. The only difference is that the athlete performs sliding movements, lying on the surface of the water on his back. The style is not considered as fast as the regular front crawl, despite the fact that the swimmer breathes freely and starts not from the starting block, as usual, but by pushing off the side of the pool with his feet. Clarity is important in style: alternating movements of the limbs. They especially follow the technique of the hands, which perform three phases of movements: capture, pull-up, return to their original position.

The method is actively used in applied navigation, for example, when transporting the victim, cargo, emergency situations. Doctors recommend swimming in this style: with the help of training, they achieve straightening of the spine, and besides, it is recommended for patients with heart disease.

3. Brass - a popular style, the name of which comes from the French. brass - hand. While moving along the track, the swimmer performs wide swings - strokes with his hands, while simultaneously pushing off the water with his feet. Historical evidence indicates that this is the most ancient type of swimming. The rock paintings show that the ancient inhabitants of our planet moved along the water surface in this way.

The method is considered the slowest of all: its technique has changed more than once. For example, at the beginning of the 20th century, athletes performed swims with their heads high above the water. Then the technique changed: it became possible to lower the head into the water to exhale and stretch the arms forward. The most popular distance is 200 m, the world record for men holds for more than a year (2, 06, 6 minutes) and belongs to the Japanese athlete Ippei Watanabe.

4. Butterfly resembles the flight of a butterfly over the surface of the water, it is available to trained swimmers, as it requires a lot of energy costs to overcome the distance and perfect possession techniques. During the movement, the upper body practically rises above the surface of the water, and at this time the legs make a movement reminiscent of a wave of a dolphin's tail. It is considered the second fastest after freestyle.

Until 1953, the butterfly was considered a type of breaststroke, and only in the middle of the 20th century was it singled out as a separate competitive discipline.

5. Integrated swimming. In this discipline, swims are carried out by all known styles: crawl, breaststroke, backstroke and butterfly. Officially, men and women compete at a distance of 200 and 400 m: you need to swim 50 or 100 m in different ways. This style was not immediately recognized: in 1968, only the 200 m distance was included in the Olympic program, however, then the complex heats were forgotten and resumed only in 1984.

6. Relay - a team swim, in which members of the national teams swim in different ways in turn: backstroke, breaststroke, butterfly, crawl. At the Olympic Games since 1960, medals have been awarded in the 4x100 m category for men and women. The so-called combined relay (swim) 4x50 m is popular, but this is not an Olympic discipline.

Pool

According to the documents regulating the swims of the International Federation of this sport, competition pools have a length of 50 m (long water) and 25 m (short water). Bath depth: from 1.5 to 6 m, depending on the purpose. More specific sizes are also provided.

Pool
Bath length (m)	Bath Width (m)	Number of tracks	Track width (m)
50	25	10	2,5
50	21	10	2
25	16	8	1,9
25	11	6	1,75
25	8,5	5	1,6

The paths in the pool are separated by special floats - wave absorbers. Their color for 5 m from the end sides of the pool should be different from the rest, usually red floats are pulled at the beginning and end of the bath, and green or blue floats over the distance.

Pools are equipped with starting racks or bedside tables. Their surfaces are made embossed so that the athletes' feet do not slip at the start. The bottom of the pool for the orientation of the competitors is drawn with dark lines in the form of the letter "T". The water temperature is maintained within 25-29 degrees.

Equipment

At first glance, it seems that the swimmer has practically no equipment, but this is far from the case. Each of its elements is important to achieve the result.

Swimwear and swimming trunks made of polyester or lycra are selected taking into account the size, nothing should interfere with the swimmer, on the contrary, help, creating conditions for sliding on the surface of the water. The cap tightly closes the ears and fits the head, protects the hair from the effects of the pool water. Swimmers take into account the length of hair that needs to be removed under it. Hats are made of latex, silicone or fabric. Glasses are selected to protect the eyes from water ingress, they must fit snugly against the bridge of the nose and the back of the head. Light and non-slip slippers are required for the pool.

The equipment of the swimmer does not end there, equipment is needed with which intensive training is carried out. Styrofoam boards and kolobashki, with which they work out stretching and clarity of swings, keep balance. Fins of different lengths and belts with weights for specific exercises.

Competition system, judging

Competitions held according to official rules include morning and evening heats. Morning are considered preliminary, according to their results the finalists and semi-finalists who will take part in evening programs. In the competition program, awards are played at distances crawl, backstroke, dolphin, breaststroke.

Each judge during the competition is responsible for assessing the swimmer at a certain stage, monitors the absence of violations at distances.

Judge	Responsibilities
Main	Heads the panel of judges, is responsible for the general judicial assessment, organizes the work of subordinates
Starting	Monitors the correct entry into the water, eliminates false starts
timekeeper	Records time from start to finish
Finishing	Marks the finish time and the clarity of touching the side (currently, this specialist is being replaced by automated systems)
Referee at the corner	Monitors the correctness of the coups at a distance
Technical	Keeps track of movement

You can talk about swimming endlessly, without it the life of a modern person is impossible to imagine. This is the oldest sport, a remedy for the treatment and prevention of many diseases, a profession and an extraordinary spectacle.

Being a professional sport, swimming makes it possible for amateurs to practice it: children, the disabled, the elderly, as it has almost no contraindications. To start doing it, you need only desire.