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From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This article is about standard human swimming. For competitive swimming, see Swimming
(sport). For animal swimming, see Aquatic locomotion. For other uses, see Swimming
(disambiguation) and Swimmer (disambiguation).

A competitive swimmer performing the breaststroke

Swimming is the self-propulsion of a person through water, or other liquid, usually for

recreation, sport, exercise, or survival. Locomotion is achieved through coordinated
movement of the limbs and the body to achieve hydrodynamic thrust that results in
directional motion. Humans can hold their breath underwater and undertake
rudimentary locomotive swimming within weeks of birth, as a survival response. [1]
Swimming is consistently among the top public recreational activities, [2][3][4][5] and in some
countries, swimming lessons are a compulsory part of the educational curriculum. [6] As a
formalized sport, swimming is featured in a range of local, national, and international
competitions, including every modern Summer Olympics.
Swimming involves repeated motions known as strokes in order to propel the body
forward. While the front crawl, also known as freestyle, is widely regarded as the fastest
out of four primary strokes, other strokes are practiced for special purposes, such as for
training.
There are various risks present during swimming, mainly due to it taking place in water.
Swimmers are at risk of incapacitation due to panic and exhaustion, which may cause
death due to drowning. Other dangers include getting an infection or contact with hostile
aquatic fauna. To minimize these risks, most facilities employ a lifeguard to look for
signs of distress.
Swimmers often wear specialized swimwear, although depending on the culture of the
area, some swimmers may also swim nude or wear their day attire. In addition to this, a
variety of equipment can be used to enhance the swimming experience or performance,
including but not limited to the use of swimming goggles, floatation devices, swim fins,
and snorkels.

Science[edit]

Swimmers perform squats prior to entering the pool in a U.S. military base, 2011.

Swimming relies on the nearly neutral buoyancy of the human body. On average, the
body has a relative density of 0.98 compared to water, which causes the body to float.
However, buoyancy varies on the basis of body composition, lung inflation, muscle and
fat content, centre of gravity and the salinity of the water. Higher levels of body fat and
saltier water both lower the relative density of the body and increase its buoyancy.
Human males tend to have a lower centre of gravity and higher muscle content,
therefore find it more difficult to float or be buoyant. See also: Hydrostatic weighing.
Since the human body is less dense than water, water is able to support the weight of
the body during swimming. As a result, swimming is “low-impact” compared to land
activities such as running. The density and viscosity of water also create resistance for
objects moving through the water. Swimming strokes use this resistance to create
propulsion, but this same resistance also generates drag on the body.
Hydrodynamics is important to stroke technique for swimming faster, and swimmers
who want to swim faster or exhaust less try to reduce the drag of the body's motion
through the water. To be more hydrodynamically effective, swimmers can either
increase the power of their strokes or reduce water resistance, though power must
increase by a factor of three to achieve the same effect as reducing resistance.
[7]
 Efficient swimming by reducing water resistance involves a horizontal water position,
rolling the body to reduce the breadth of the body in the water, and extending the arms
as far as possible to reduce wave resistance.[7]
Just before plunging into the pool, swimmers may perform exercises such as squatting.
Squatting helps in enhancing a swimmer's start by warming up the