The Four Swimming Strokes

There are four strokes in Competitive Swimming. In this post, I will give you a brief outline of each of them, and I will tell you what Events consist of each stroke.

BUTTERFLY: Butterfly is swum on your front by using both arms to lift out of the water, then enter them in  the water to pull, lifting your head out of the water each stroke to breathe. The kick involves both legs kicking at the same time, like a dolphin.

BACKSTROKE: Backstroke is swum on your back by using your shoulder rotation to alternate your arms and pull through the water. It is swum with a flutter kick.

BREASTROKE: Breastroke is swum on your front by using both arms to do a sweeping pull underwater, and then a whip/ frog kick while extending the hands back past your head.

FREESTYLE: Freestyle is also known as "Frontcrawl" in the non-competitive swimming world. It is swum on your front my rotating your arms forward and pulling under the water with a flutter kick to propel you forward..