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How swimming was introduced
The origins and information about swimming
The Bible, the Iliad and the Odyssey all
contain references to the sport of swimming. Thucydides noted the activity in scripts
that are over 2,400 years old.
Plato once declared that anyone who could not swim lacked a proper education, and Julius Caesar was known for his swimming prowess. Drawings from the Stone Age have been found in "the cave of swimmers" near Wadi Sora in the southwestern part of Egypt. These pictures show a swimming stroke like breaststroke or dog paddle, although it may also be possible that the movements had some sort of ritual meaning unrelated to swimming. A clay seal dated between 4000 B.C and 9000 B.C shows four swimmers swimming a variant of the front crawl. More references to swimming can be found in Babylonian bas-reliefs and Assyrian wall drawings, depicting a variant of the breaststroke. The most famous drawings were found in the Kebir desert and are estimated to be from around 4000 B.C. The Nagoda bas-relief also shows swimmers dating back from 3000 B.C The Indian palace Mohenjo Daro from 2800B.C contains a swimming pool sized 30m by 60m. The Minoan palace Minos of Knossos in Crete also featured baths. Depictions of swimmers were also found from the Hittites, Minoans, and other Middle Eastern civilizations, the Incas in the Tepantitla House at Teotihuacan, and in mosaics in Pompeii. The Greeks did not include swimming in the ancient Olympic Games, but practiced the sport, often building swimming pools as part of their baths. One common insult in Greece was to say about somebody that he/she neither knew how to run nor swim. The Etruscans at Tarquinia (Italy) show pictures of swimmers in 600 B.C, and tombs in Greece depict swimmers 500 B.C The Greek Scyllis was taken prisoner on a ship of the Persian king Xerxes I in 480 B.C After learning about an impending attack on the Greek navy, he stole a knife and jumped overboard. During the night and using a snorkel made from reed, he swam back to the ships and cut them loose. It was also said that the ability to swim saved the Greeks at the Battle of Salamis, while the Persians all drowned when their ships were destroyed. |
Julius Caesar was also known to be a good swimmer. A series of relief's from 850 B.C. in the Nimrud Gallery of the British Museum show swimmers, mostly in military context, often using swimming aids.
In Japan swimming was one of the noble skills of the Samurai, and historic records describe swimming competitions in 36 B.C. organized by emperor Suigui (spelling unclear), which are the first known swimming races.
Swimming at The Olympics and The modern era.
The Olympic Games were held in 1896 in Athens, a male-only competition (see also Swimming at the 1896 Summer Olympics). Six events were planned, but only four events were actually contested: 100 m, 500 m, and 1200 m freestyle and 100 m for sailors. The first gold medal was won by Alfred Hajos of Hungary in 1:22.20 for the 100m freestyle. Hajos was also victorious in the 1200 m event, and was unable to compete in the 500 m, which was won by Austrian Paul Neumann. Another swimming competition of 100m for sailors included three Greek sailors in Bay of Zea near Piraeus, starting from a rowing boat. The winner was Ioannis Malokinis in two minutes and 20 seconds. A 1500m race was also performed.
In 1897 Capt. Henry Sheffield designed a rescue can or rescue cylinder, now well known as the lifesaving device in Baywatch. The pointed ends made it slide faster though the water, although it can cause injuries.
The second Olympic games in Paris in 1900 featured 200m, 1000m, and 4000m freestyle, 200m backstroke , and a 200m team race (see also Swimming at the 1900 Summer Olympics). There were two additional unusual swimming events (although common at the time) : an obstacle swimming course in the Seine river (swimming with the current), and an underwater swimming race. The 4000m freestyle was won by John Arthur Jarvis in under one hour, the longest Olympic swimming race ever. The backstroke was also introduced to the Olympic games in Paris, as was water polo. The Osborne Swimming Club from Manchester beat club teams from Belgium, France and Germany quite easily.
The Trudgen was improved by the British-born Australian swimming teacher and swimmer Richard (Fred, Frederick) Cavill. Like Trudgen, he watched natives from the Solomon Islands, using front crawl. But different from Trudgen, he noticed the flutter kick, and studied it closely. He used this new flutter kick instead of the breaststroke or scissor kick for the Trudgen. He used this stroke in 1902 at an International Championships in England to set a new world record by out-swimming all Trudgen swimmers over the 100 yards in 0:58.4 (some sources say it was his son in 0:58.8). He taught this style to his six sons, each becoming a championship swimmer. The technique became known as Australian crawl up to 1950, when it was shortened to crawl, technically known as front crawl.
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Baton Rouge Community College has an open-door admissions policy. Students who can benefit from the programs offered are accepted without regard to race, sex, religion, national origin, age, physical disability, marital or veteran status.
The RMHC Scholarship Program will match, dollar for dollar, up to $225,000 for a potential of $450,000 to be awarded to these students. As $50,000 in funds was previously earmarked for minorities, the University already has a combined total of $100,000 to award to students in the fall of 2003.
Every college is required to have a designated Title IX coordinator. The Title IX Coordinator’s information must be available for all students, faculty, and staff. If there are any complaints it is the coordinators job to file the complaint.
The 2006 Hall of Fame inductees were selected through a multi-level process that included League member schools and a committee of athletics, fine arts, and education leaders. The League Hall of Fame is part of the corporate sponsorship agreement with Wells Fargo.
Nova Scotia is taking a place on the world stage of canoeing and kayaking. High-performance athletes from Nova Scotia and around the world will be using new training facilities to be added to existing buildings on Lake Banook in Dartmouth and Lake Thomas in Waverley.
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