Olympic Swimming is not something new that was created. It was completely different when it had begun.

So….what is the history of Olympic Swimming?

The History of Olympic Swimming does take some time to talk about, so let’s shorten it up.

To begin with, swimming as a sport started its journey in the mid-19th century. In 1837, the first swimming organization was formed in London.  In 1896, the very first olympic games were held in Athens, Greece. Also during 1896, there were only four men’s races that were being held in the Mediterranean Sea (open water). Fast forward 12 years later in the London games of 1908, competitions were now competed in a pool setting (the olympic pool that we know today). However, there were still only men competing in this time period. The women’s races were added in 1912 but women were only allowed to compete in certain events, such as: 100m freestyle, and the 4x100m freestyle relay.

Everything began to evolve, and slowly turn into the crazy and competitive Olympic events that we know of today. But, things were still changing. When the races of 1912 were held in Stockholm, that was the first time when women swam competitively in the olympics. At this time period, men still had more opportunities to compete compared to the women. But, women are just getting started with making history in the olympics. Women proceeded to progress in olympic swimming(competitive swimming), and they kept on going. No other big changes have happened ever since, but swimming in the olympics has definitely progressed up until today.

Related Stories:

• https://www.sports-fitness.co.uk/blog/history-of-olympic-swimming
• https://www.swimmingworldmagazine.com/news/why-an-olympic-year-is-great-for-the-sport-of-swimming/
• https://www.nbcolympics.com/news/swimming-101-olympic-history
• https://bleacherreport.com/articles/1260659-the-10-most-memorable-moments-in-olympic-swimming-history
• https://sportsmatik.com/sports-corner/sports-know-how/swimming/about

Take Action: 

• Do extended research about the History of Olympic Swimming.
• Read articles that explain how the olympics (swimming) began in the first place.
• Watch videos about how olympic swimming has evolved.