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Swimming

Aquatic Sports

Swimming as a human activity is ancient and undocumented at any single origin point, depicted in Stone Age rock art and practiced in ancient Egypt, Greece and Rome. Organized competitive swimming in the modern sense is a much later and better documented development: the National Swimming Society began organizing swimming competitions in London from 1837 onward, generally taken as the start of the sport as an organized competition rather than simply a widespread human skill.

Facts
Disputed
Origin Year
1837 2
1837 marks the start of organized competitive swimming in London under the National Swimming Society, taken here as the sport organized origin. Swimming itself as a human activity is far older and effectively undocumented at any single origin point, practiced across many ancient cultures including Egypt, Greece and Rome, so 1837 answers only the question of when organized competition began, not when people first swam competitively.
Originating Region
Prehistoric and ancient practice worldwide; organized competition begins in England 2
International Governing Body
World Aquatics, founded 1908 as the Federation Internationale de Natation (FINA), headquartered in Lausanne, Switzerland. 2
Classification
Olympic Programme Status
Current Olympic Sport 1
Swimming
Filter Results2 entries
Connections

Associated With

Diving, Sports
Source Wikipedia, Diving (sport)

Featured In

Source Wikipedia, 1896 Summer Olympics
Source Wikipedia: Swimming at the 1900 Summer Olympics
Source Wikipedia: Swimming at the 1904 Summer Olympics
Source Wikipedia: Swimming at the 1908 Summer Olympics
Source Wikipedia: Swimming at the 1912 Summer Olympics
Source Wikipedia: Swimming at the 1920 Summer Olympics
Source Wikipedia: Swimming at the 1924 Summer Olympics
Source Wikipedia: Swimming at the 1928 Summer Olympics
Source Wikipedia: Swimming at the 1932 Summer Olympics
Source Wikipedia: Swimming at the 1936 Summer Olympics
Source Wikipedia: Swimming at the 1948 Summer Olympics
Source Wikipedia: Swimming at the 1952 Summer Olympics
Source Wikipedia: Swimming at the 1956 Summer Olympics
Source Wikipedia: Swimming at the 1960 Summer Olympics
Source Wikipedia: Swimming at the 1968 Summer Olympics
Source Wikipedia: Swimming at the 1972 Summer Olympics
Source Wikipedia, 1980 Summer Olympics
Source Wikipedia, 1984 Summer Olympics
Source Wikipedia, 1988 Summer Olympics
Source Wikipedia, 1992 Summer Olympics
Source Wikipedia, 1996 Summer Olympics
Source International Olympic Committee, Official Olympic History Reference
Source International Paralympic Committee, Official History

Governed By

Source Wikipedia, British Swimming
Source Wikipedia, USA Swimming
Source Wikipedia, World Aquatics

Long-Form Articles

Played By

Adam Peaty, Athletes
Source Wikipedia: Adam Peaty
Source Aleksandr Popov (swimmer) (Wikipedia)
Ann Curtis, Athletes
Claudia Poll, Athletes
Source Wikipedia: Claudia Poll
Source David Popovici - Wikipedia
Dawn Fraser, Athletes
Debbie Meyer, Athletes
Source Wikipedia: Denis Pankratov
Source Éva Székely (Wikipedia)
Source Wikipedia, Federica Pellegrini
Source Wikipedia: Franziska van Almsick
Source Wikipedia: Hannah Stockbauer
Ian Thorpe, Athletes
Source Wikipedia: Inge de Bruijn
Source Wikipedia, Kirsty Coventry
Source Wikipedia: Kornelia Ender
Source Wikipedia: Kosuke Hagino
Kristin Otto, Athletes
Source Wikipedia: Kristin Otto
Source Wikipedia: Krisztina Egerszegi
Source Wikipedia: Laure Manaudou
Source Wikipedia: Léon Marchand
Mark Spitz, Athletes
Source Wikipedia: Michael Gross (swimmer)
Source Encyclopaedia Britannica
Penny Heyns, Athletes
Source Wikipedia: Penelope Heyns
Source Wikipedia: Petra Schneider
Source Wikipedia: Pieter van den Hoogenband
Ryan Lochte, Athletes
Source Wikipedia, Ryan Lochte
Source Sarah Sjostrom - Wikipedia
Shane Gould, Athletes
Source Shane Gould (Wikipedia)
Sun Yang, Athletes
Source Wikipedia: Sun Yang
Tamas Darnyi, Athletes
Source Wikipedia: Tamás Darnyi
Trischa Zorn, Athletes
Source Wikipedia: Ulrike Tauber
Source Wikipedia: Ute Geweniger
Source Wikipedia: Vladimir Salnikov
Source Wikipedia: Yana Klochkova
Source Wikipedia: Yevgeny Sadovy
Sources
1. Swimming at the Summer Olympics (Wikipedia)
Olympic programme statusView the Source
2. Encyclopaedia Britannica
Encyclopaedia Britannica, Inc.View the Source
Wikipedia, World Aquatics
Wikimedia Foundation
  • Founding and early years (1896-1945) section
    The founders' stated priorities were to standardise the rules of swimming, diving and water polo; to ratify and maintain a list of world records; and to take charge of the Olympic competitions in those disciplines.
  • Governed By: World Aquatics
View the Source
International Olympic Committee, Official Olympic History Reference
International Olympic CommitteeFeatured In: Olympic Games
International Paralympic Committee, Official History
International Paralympic CommitteeFeatured In: Paralympic Games
Wikipedia, Federica Pellegrini
WikipediaPlayed By: Federica Pellegrini, Lead paragraph, first sentence (discipline)
Quote, Played By: Federica Pellegrini, Lead paragraph, first sentence (discipline)
Federica Pellegrini is an Italian retired swimmer.
View the Source
Wikipedia, Ryan Lochte
WikipediaPlayed By: Ryan Lochte, Lead paragraph, first sentence (discipline)
Quote, Played By: Ryan Lochte, Lead paragraph, first sentence (discipline)
Ryan Steven Lochte is an American former competitive swimmer and 12-time Olympic medalist.
View the Source
Wikipedia, 1896 Summer Olympics
Featured In: 1896 Summer Olympics, Swimming section
Quote, Featured In: 1896 Summer Olympics, Swimming section
The swimming competition was held in the open sea
View the Source
Wikipedia: Swimming at the 1900 Summer Olympics
Featured In: 1900 Summer Olympics, Lead section
Quote, Featured In: 1900 Summer Olympics, Lead section
At the 1900 Summer Olympics in Paris, seven swimming events were contested.
View the Source
Wikipedia: Swimming at the 1904 Summer Olympics
Featured In: 1904 Summer Olympics, Lead section
Quote, Featured In: 1904 Summer Olympics, Lead section
At the 1904 Summer Olympics, nine swimming events were contested.
View the Source
Wikipedia: Swimming at the 1908 Summer Olympics
Featured In: 1908 Summer Olympics, Lead section
Quote, Featured In: 1908 Summer Olympics, Lead section
At the 1908 Summer Olympics in London, six swimming events were contested.
View the Source
Wikipedia: Swimming at the 1912 Summer Olympics
Featured In: 1912 Summer Olympics, Lead section
Quote, Featured In: 1912 Summer Olympics, Lead section
At the 1912 Summer Olympics, nine swimming events were contested.
View the Source
Wikipedia: Swimming at the 1920 Summer Olympics
Featured In: 1920 Summer Olympics, Lead section
Quote, Featured In: 1920 Summer Olympics, Lead section
At the 1920 Summer Olympics in Antwerp, ten swimming events were contested.
View the Source
Wikipedia: Swimming at the 1924 Summer Olympics
Featured In: 1924 Summer Olympics, Lead section
Quote, Featured In: 1924 Summer Olympics, Lead section
At the 1924 Summer Olympics in Paris, eleven swimming events were contested, six for men and five for women.
View the Source
Wikipedia: Swimming at the 1928 Summer Olympics
Featured In: 1928 Summer Olympics, Lead section
Quote, Featured In: 1928 Summer Olympics, Lead section
At the 1928 Summer Olympics in Amsterdam, eleven swimming events were contested, six for men and five for women.
View the Source
Wikipedia: Swimming at the 1932 Summer Olympics
Featured In: 1932 Summer Olympics, Lead section
Quote, Featured In: 1932 Summer Olympics, Lead section
At the 1932 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles, eleven swimming events were contested, six for men and five for women.
View the Source
Wikipedia: Swimming at the 1936 Summer Olympics
Featured In: 1936 Summer Olympics, Lead section
Quote, Featured In: 1936 Summer Olympics, Lead section
At the 1936 Summer Olympics in Berlin, eleven swimming events were contested, six for men and five for women.
View the Source
Wikipedia: Swimming at the 1948 Summer Olympics
Featured In: 1948 Summer Olympics, Lead section
Quote, Featured In: 1948 Summer Olympics, Lead section
At the 1948 Summer Olympics in London, 11 swimming events were contested, six for men and five for women.
View the Source
Wikipedia: Swimming at the 1952 Summer Olympics
Featured In: 1952 Summer Olympics, Lead section
Quote, Featured In: 1952 Summer Olympics, Lead section
At the 1952 Summer Olympics in Helsinki, a total number of eleven swimming events were contested, six for men and five for women.
View the Source
Wikipedia: Swimming at the 1956 Summer Olympics
Featured In: 1956 Summer Olympics, Lead section
Quote, Featured In: 1956 Summer Olympics, Lead section
At the 1956 Summer Olympics in Melbourne, 13 swimming events were contested, seven for men and six for women.
View the Source
Wikipedia: Swimming at the 1960 Summer Olympics
Featured In: 1960 Summer Olympics, Lead section
Quote, Featured In: 1960 Summer Olympics, Lead section
At the 1960 Summer Olympics in Rome, 15 swimming events were contested, eight for men and seven for women.
View the Source
Wikipedia: Swimming at the 1968 Summer Olympics
Featured In: 1968 Summer Olympics, Lead section
Quote, Featured In: 1968 Summer Olympics, Lead section
The swimming competitions at the 1968 Summer Olympics in Mexico City took place from 17 to 26 October at the Alberca Olímpica Francisco Márquez.
View the Source
Wikipedia: Swimming at the 1972 Summer Olympics
Featured In: 1972 Summer Olympics, Lead section
Quote, Featured In: 1972 Summer Olympics, Lead section
The 1972 Summer Olympics were held in Munich, West Germany. 29 events in swimming were contested.
View the Source
Wikipedia, 1980 Summer Olympics
Featured In: 1980 Summer Olympics, Article text
Quote, Featured In: 1980 Summer Olympics, Article text
impacted the competitiveness of swimming, track and field, boxing, basketball, diving, field hockey and equestrian sports
View the Source
Wikipedia, 1984 Summer Olympics
Featured In: 1984 Summer Olympics, Venues list, Olympic Swim Stadium, University of Southern California
Quote, Featured In: 1984 Summer Olympics, Venues list, Olympic Swim Stadium, University of Southern California
swimming, diving, synchronized swimming
View the Source
Wikipedia, 1988 Summer Olympics
Featured In: 1988 Summer Olympics, Article text
Quote, Featured In: 1988 Summer Olympics, Article text
synchronized swimming, swimming, water polo
View the Source
Wikipedia, 1992 Summer Olympics
Featured In: 1992 Summer Olympics, Highlights
Quote, Featured In: 1992 Summer Olympics, Highlights
The young Krisztina Egerszegi of Hungary won three individual swimming gold medals.
View the Source
Wikipedia, 1996 Summer Olympics
Featured In: 1996 Summer Olympics, Sports contested list with event counts
Quote, Featured In: 1996 Summer Olympics, Sports contested list with event counts
Swimming (32)
View the Source
Wikipedia, Diving (sport)
Wikimedia FoundationAssociated With: Diving, Governance
Quote, Associated With: Diving, Governance
The global governing body of diving is World Aquatics (name adopted in 2023), which also governs swimming, artistic swimming, water polo and open water swimming.
View the Source
Aleksandr Popov (swimmer) (Wikipedia)
Played By: Alexander Popov, lead paragraph, plays
Quote, Played By: Alexander Popov, lead paragraph, plays
Aleksandr Vladimirovich Popov (Russian: Алекса́ндр Влади́мирович Попо́в, born 16 November 1971), better known as Alexander Popov, is a Russian former swimmer.
View the Source
Wikipedia: Adam Peaty
WikipediaPlayed By: Adam Peaty, lead paragraph, plays
Quote, Played By: Adam Peaty, lead paragraph, plays
Adam George Ramsay-Peaty (né Peaty; born 28 December 1994) is an English competitive swimmer who specialises in the sprint breaststroke events.
View the Source
Wikipedia: Kornelia Ender
Played By: Kornelia Ender, lead paragraph, plays
Quote, Played By: Kornelia Ender, lead paragraph, plays
Kornelia Ender (later Matthes now Grummt, born 25 October 1958) is a former East German swimmer who at the 1976 Summer Olympics became the first female swimmer to win four gold medals at a single Olympic Games, all in world record times.
View the Source
Wikipedia: Ulrike Tauber
Played By: Ulrike Tauber, lead paragraph, plays
Quote, Played By: Ulrike Tauber, lead paragraph, plays
Ulrike Tauber (born 16 June 1958) is a retired medley and butterfly swimmer from East Germany, who won the gold medal in the women's 400 m individual medley at the 1976 Summer Olympics in Montreal, Quebec, Canada.
View the Source
Wikipedia: Petra Schneider
Played By: Petra Schneider, lead paragraph, plays
Quote, Played By: Petra Schneider, lead paragraph, plays
Petra Schneider (born 11 January 1963) is a German retired medley and freestyle swimmer.
View the Source
Wikipedia: Ute Geweniger
Played By: Ute Geweniger, lead paragraph, plays
Quote, Played By: Ute Geweniger, lead paragraph, plays
Ute Geweniger (later Strauß, born 24 February 1964) is a former breaststroke and medley swimmer who was a leading member of the East German swimming team in the 1980s.
View the Source
Wikipedia: Kristin Otto
Played By: Kristin Otto, lead paragraph, plays
Quote, Played By: Kristin Otto, lead paragraph, plays
Kristin Otto (German pronunciation: [ˈkʁɪstɪn ˈʔɔtoː] ; born 7 February 1966) is a former East German swimmer, becoming Olympic, World and European champion, multiple times.
View the Source
Wikipedia: Michael Gross (swimmer)
Played By: Michael Gross, lead paragraph, plays
Quote, Played By: Michael Gross, lead paragraph, plays
Michael Groß (German pronunciation: [ˈmɪçaʔeːl ˈɡʁoːs] ; born 17 June 1964), usually spelled Michael Gross in English, is a former competitive swimmer from Germany.
View the Source
Wikipedia: Franziska van Almsick
Played By: Franziska van Almsick, lead paragraph, plays
Quote, Played By: Franziska van Almsick, lead paragraph, plays
Franziska van Almsick (German pronunciation: [fʁanˈt͡sɪska fan ˈalmsɪk] ; born 5 April 1978) is a retired German swimmer, former world record holder in 200 metres freestyle.
View the Source
Wikipedia: Hannah Stockbauer
Played By: Hannah Stockbauer, lead paragraph, plays
Quote, Played By: Hannah Stockbauer, lead paragraph, plays
Hannah Stockbauer (German pronunciation: [ˈhana ˈʃtɔkˌbaʊ̯ɐ] ; born 7 January 1982) is a World Champion, Olympic and national-record holding swimmer from Germany.
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Wikipedia: Vladimir Salnikov
Played By: Vladimir Salnikov, lead paragraph, plays
Quote, Played By: Vladimir Salnikov, lead paragraph, plays
Vladimir Valeryevich Salnikov (Russian: Владимир Валерьевич Сальников; born 21 May 1960) is a Russian former freestyle swimmer who set 12 world records in the 400, 800 and 1,500 metre events.
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Wikipedia: Yevgeny Sadovy
Played By: Yevgeny Sadovy, lead paragraph, plays
Quote, Played By: Yevgeny Sadovy, lead paragraph, plays
Yevgeny Viktorovich Sadovy (Russian: Евгений Викторович Садовый; born 19 January 1973) is a retired Russian freestyle swimmer who won three gold medals at the 1992 Summer Olympics at Barcelona and was subsequently chosen by Swimming World magazine as the Male World Swimmer of the Year.
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Wikipedia: Denis Pankratov
Played By: Denis Pankratov, lead paragraph, plays
Quote, Played By: Denis Pankratov, lead paragraph, plays
Denis Pankratov (Russian: Денис Панкратов; born 4 July 1974) is a retired Russian butterfly swimmer of the 1990s, who was best known for winning the butterfly double at the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta, United States in a unique style.
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Wikipedia: Tamás Darnyi
Played By: Tamas Darnyi, lead paragraph, plays
Quote, Played By: Tamas Darnyi, lead paragraph, plays
Tamás Darnyi (born 3 June 1967 in Budapest) is a Hungarian retired male swimmer.
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Wikipedia: Krisztina Egerszegi
Played By: Krisztina Egerszegi, lead paragraph, plays
Quote, Played By: Krisztina Egerszegi, lead paragraph, plays
Krisztina Egerszegi (Hungarian pronunciation: [ˈkristinɒ ˈɛɡɛrsɛɡi]; born 16 August 1974) is a Hungarian former world record holding swimmer and one of the greatest Hungarian Olympic champions of the modern era.
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Wikipedia: Penelope Heyns
Played By: Penny Heyns, lead paragraph, plays
Quote, Played By: Penny Heyns, lead paragraph, plays
Penelope ("Penny") Heyns OIS (born 8 November 1974) is a South African former swimmer, who is best known for being the only woman in the history of the Olympic Games to have won both the 100 m and 200 m breaststroke events, at the 1996 Atlanta Olympic Games, making her South Africa's first post-ap
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Wikipedia: Claudia Poll
Played By: Claudia Poll, lead paragraph, plays
Quote, Played By: Claudia Poll, lead paragraph, plays
Claudia María Poll Ahrens (born 21 December 1972) is a Costa Rican-Nicaraguan former swimmer who competed in the 200 m to 800 m freestyle events.
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Wikipedia: Inge de Bruijn
Played By: Inge de Bruijn, lead paragraph, plays
Quote, Played By: Inge de Bruijn, lead paragraph, plays
Inge de Bruijn (Dutch: [ˈɪŋə də ˈbrœyn]; born 24 August 1973) is a Dutch former competitive swimmer.
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Wikipedia: Pieter van den Hoogenband
Played By: Pieter van den Hoogenband, lead paragraph, plays
Quote, Played By: Pieter van den Hoogenband, lead paragraph, plays
Pieter Cornelis Martijn van den Hoogenband (Dutch pronunciation: [ˈpitər vɑn də(n) ˈɦoːɣə(m)ˌbɑnt]; born 14 March 1978) is a Dutch retired swimmer.
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Wikipedia: Yana Klochkova
Played By: Yana Klochkova, lead paragraph, plays
Quote, Played By: Yana Klochkova, lead paragraph, plays
Yana Oleksandrivna Klochkova (Ukrainian: Яна Олександрівна Клочкова; born 7 August 1982) is a Ukrainian swimmer, who has won five Olympic medals in her career, with four of them being gold.
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Wikipedia: Laure Manaudou
Played By: Laure Manaudou, lead paragraph, plays
Quote, Played By: Laure Manaudou, lead paragraph, plays
Laure Manaudou (French pronunciation: [lɔʁ manodu]; born 9 October 1986) is a retired French Olympic, world and European champion swimmer.
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Wikipedia: Léon Marchand
Played By: Leon Marchand, lead paragraph, plays
Quote, Played By: Leon Marchand, lead paragraph, plays
Léon Marchand (French pronunciation: [leɔ̃ maʁʃɑ̃] ; born 17 May 2002) is a French professional swimmer actively training in the US. He is the World record holder in the long course 200 and 400 metres individual medley, and in the short course 200 metres individual medley; the Olympic record holder
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Wikipedia: Sun Yang
Played By: Sun Yang, lead paragraph, plays
Quote, Played By: Sun Yang, lead paragraph, plays
Sun Yang (Chinese: 孙杨; Mandarin pronunciation: [swə́n.jǎŋ]; born 1 December 1991) is a Chinese Olympic and former world-record-holding competitive swimmer.
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Wikipedia: Kosuke Hagino
Played By: Kosuke Hagino, lead paragraph, plays
Quote, Played By: Kosuke Hagino, lead paragraph, plays
Kosuke Hagino (萩野公介, Hagino Kōsuke; born 15 August 1994) is a Japanese former competitive swimmer who specialized in the individual medley and 200 m freestyle.
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Sarah Sjostrom - Wikipedia
Played By: Sarah Sjostrom, lead paragraph, plays
Quote, Played By: Sarah Sjostrom, lead paragraph, plays
Sarah Fredrika Sjöström (Swedish: [ˈsɑ̂ːra ˈɧø̂ːstrœm]; born 17 August 1993) is a Swedish competitive swimmer specialising in the sprint freestyle and butterfly events.
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David Popovici - Wikipedia
Played By: David Popovici, lead paragraph, plays
Quote, Played By: David Popovici, lead paragraph, plays
David Popovici (Romanian pronunciation: [ˈdavid po'povit͡ʃʲ]; born 15 September 2004) is a Romanian competitive swimmer who specializes in freestyle events and is the reigning Olympic champion in the 200-metre event, having won the gold medal at the 2024 Summer Olympics.
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Wikipedia, Kirsty Coventry
Played By: Kirsty Coventry, lead paragraph, plays
Quote, Played By: Kirsty Coventry, lead paragraph, plays
Kirsty Leigh Coventry Seward (née Coventry; born 16 September 1983) is a Zimbabwean politician, sports administrator, and former competitive swimmer who is the president of the International Olympic Committee (IOC).
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Shane Gould (Wikipedia)
Played By: Shane Gould, lead paragraph, plays
Quote, Played By: Shane Gould, lead paragraph, plays
Shane Elizabeth Gould (born 23 November 1956) is an Australian former competition swimmer.
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Éva Székely (Wikipedia)
Played By: Éva Székely, lead paragraph, plays
Quote, Played By: Éva Székely, lead paragraph, plays
Éva Székely (3 April 1927-29 February 2020) was a Hungarian swimmer.
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