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'Freestyle' is one of the official swimming competitions according to the rules of FINA. Although it is technically not a style, its frequent use in this manner is evolving its original meaning. According to the Australian Macquarie dictionary, it is considered as a stroke also known as front crawl or overarm. 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.

Contents

Technique

Rules and regulation

Competitions

See also

Endnotes

Bibliography

External links

Technique

Freestyle swimming competitions can be any of the unregulated strokes such as front crawl, dog paddle, or sidestroke. Individual freestyle competitions can also be swum in one of the officially regulated strokes (breaststroke, butterfly, and backstroke). For the freestyle part of medley competitions, however, one cannot use breaststroke, butterfly, or backstroke. Most competitive swimmers choose the front crawl during freestyle competitions, as this style provides the greatest speed. Freestyle competitions have also been swum completely and partially in other styles, especially at lower ranking competitions. During the Olympic Games, front crawl is swum almost exclusively during freestyle.

Rules and regulation

Freestyle means ''any style'' for individual distances and '' any style but breaststroke, butterfly and backstroke'' for medley competitions. The wall has to be touched at every turn and upon completion. Some part of the swimmer has to be above water at any time except for the first 15 m after the start and every turn. This rule was introduced to avoid the dangers of swimmers passing out during underwater swimming. (''see: History of swimming''). The exact FINA rules are:

★ Freestyle means that in an event so designated the swimmer may swim any style, except that in individual medley or medley relay events, freestyle means any style other than backstroke, breaststroke or butterfly.

★ Some part of the swimmer must touch the wall upon completion of each length and at the finish.

★ Some part of the swimmer must break the surface of the water throughout the race, except it shall be permissible for the swimmer to be completely submerged during the turn and for a distance of not more than 15 meters after the start and each turn. By that point the head must have broken the surface.

Competitions

There are eight common competitions swam in freestyle swimming, both over either a long course (50 m pool) or a short course (25 m pool). The United States also employs short course yards (25 yard pool). Of course, other distances are also swam on occasions.

★ 50 m Freestyle

★ 100 m Freestyle

★ 200 m Freestyle

★ 400 m Freestyle (500 yards for short course yards)

★ 800 m Freestyle (1000 yards for short course yards)

★ 1500 m Freestyle (1650 yards for short course yards)

★ 4×100 m Freestyle Relay

★ 4×200 m Freestyle Relay
Young swimmers (typically 8 years old and younger) may swim a 25 yard or 25 meter freestyle event. These shorter events are usually for swimmers who are slower than similarly aged swimmers or may have difficulty swimming longer distances.
Freestyle is also part of the medley over the following distances:

★ 100 m Individual Medley (short 25 m pool only)

★ 200 m Individual Medley

★ 400 m Individual Medley

★ 4×100 m Medley Relay
In the long distance races of 800 m and 1500 m, meets hosted by FINA (including the Olympics) only have the 800 m distance for women and the 1500 m distance for men. However, FINA ''does'' keep records in the 1500 meter distance for women and the 800 meter distance for men, and many meets in the United States have both distances for both genders.^[1]

See also

★ World records in swimming

Endnotes

1. The 2002 Pan Pacific Swimming Championships had an 800 meter distance for men, and 1500 meter distance for women, and appear to have been conducted on this basis since 1989. The 2006 USA Swimming Summer Nationals have both events, as do the 2006 USA Swimming Summer Junior Nationals and the 2005 USMS Long Course Nationals.

Bibliography

★ Fitness Swimming, , Emmett W., Hines, Human Kinetics Publishers, 1998, ISBN 0-88011-656-0

★ Swimming Made Easy: The Total Immersion Way for Any Swimmer to Achieve Fluency, Ease, and Speed in Any Stroke, , Terry, Laughlin, Total Immersion Inc, 2001, ISBN 1-931009-01-5

★ Breakthrough Swimming, , Cecil, Colwin, Human Kinetics Publishers, 2002, ISBN 0-7360-3777-2

★ The Macquarie Dictionary Online, , , , Macquarie Dictionary Publishers Pty Ltd, 2007,

External links

★ Swim.ee: Detailed discussion of swimming techniques and speeds

★ How to learn efficient freestyle swimming

★ FINA Long Course Metres World record list

★ FINA Short Course Metres World record list

★ USA Swimming Long Course Metres record list (updated faster than FINA lists)

★ USA Swimming Short Course Metres record list (updated faster than FINA lists)