Olympic Swimming

Swimming has been an Olympic event since the first modern Olympics in 1896. There are 16 different swimming events in the Olympics using four different strokes. Official Site of the Olympic Movement: Aquatics Olympic Sport Since 1896 Men and women do not compete against each other, though they do perform the same strokes and distances, with a few exceptions.Official Site of the Olympic Movement: Swimming Competition

The U.S. Olympic swimming team won a total of 31 medals, including 12 gold, nine silver and 10 bronze. American Michael Phelps won eight gold medals and set seven world records to break Olympic records for the most medals won in a single Olympic season and the most all-time gold medals won by a single athlete. Australia won a total of 20 medals, including six gold medals.NBC Olympics: Swimming - 2008 Medals Standings By Nation

At the 1896 Olympic Games, swimmers were dropped off boats into the frigid Mediterranean; the first one to reach shore won.The Olympic Games by Lambros and Politis (Pages 215-217) There have been several Olympic swimming events that are now discontinued, including Swimming Obstacle Races, Plain High Diving, Swimming Plunge for Distance, Men's Sailors 100m Freestyle, Solo Synchronized Swimming and Underwater Swimming.topendsports: Discontinued Olympic Sports Several swimming events have also been added since the early 20th century, including the Backstroke in 1904 and the Breaststroke in 1908.The Official Website of the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games: Olympic HistoryThe Times: Olympic History

During the 1940s, swimmers doing the breaststroke discovered that they could swim faster when they stroked overhead with both arms simultaneously. This type of stroke was quickly banned, but in a short time it became its own event: the Butterfly, appearing for the first time in the 1956 Olympics.The Official Website of the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games: Olympic History