|
|
|
The founding of the The International Amateur Swimming Federation (FINA) in 1908 was a pragmatic response to an increase in international sporting events, crowned by the Olympic Games. At the first modern Olympics in 1896, three swimming contests were held. However, no universally accepted rules, regulations or definitions governed the swimming events.
The Olympic Games competitions prior to FINA had included a variety of unusual events such as underwater swimming (1900), 200m obstacle swimming (1900) and plunge for distance (1904).
Now, this sport includes several Olympic disciplines, which are:
Swimming | Diving | Synchronized Swimming | Water polo
more>>
|
 |
|
| Swimming |
Olympic swimming has come a long way, to temperature-controlled 50-metre pools, wave-killing gutters, lane markers designed to reduce turbulence, and status as one of the Games' glamour events. It is far removed from those early days.
more>>
|
![]() |
|
| Diving |
Almost a century ago, "fancy diving" entered the Olympic Games as a new event. It was simply diving, as we know it today, and indeed, the 1996 programme did not change a blink from the 1924 programme.
more>>
|
![]() |
|
| Synchronized Swimming |
It looks like perhaps the most effortless event in the Olympic Games, but there is more to synchronised swimming than what appears on the surface. Besides demanding strength, endurance, flexibility, grace and artistry, it requires exceptional breath control.
more>>
|
![]() |
|
| Water polo |
Water polo began as an aquatic version of rugby in the mid-1800s in England, before evolving into a waterborne semblance of football (soccer). By the turn of the century, it had become so popular in Europe and North America that it was included in the programme for the 1900 Olympic Games in Paris.
more>>
|
![]() |
|
|
|
|
