Swimming at the Olympics has produced a long list of British sporting icons during its history.

From Anita Lonsbrough, to Mark Foster and Adam Peaty, countless British swimmers have become household names.

Tokyo 2020 saw Team GB secure their biggest medal haul in swimming, with eight being won overall.

How many swimming events are there at the Olympics?

There are 37 swimming events at the 2024 Paris Olympics with 35 of these being in the pool and the other two being in open water.

In the pool, there are 16 events per gender and one mixed event, consisting of four different strokes and distances.

Individual freestyle, or front crawl, is the stroke with the most events and sees men and women compete over 50m, 100m, 200m, 400m, 800m and 1500m.

Backstroke, breaststroke and butterfly individual events take place over 100m and 200m distances, whilst the individual medley takes place over 200m and 400m.

Men and women also compete in 4x100m freestyle, 4x200m freestyle and 4x100m medley relays with a seventh 4x100m mixed medley relay making up the programme.

The final two swimming events at the Olympics consist of a men's and women's 10km marathon swimming race in open water.

How do Olympic swimming relays work?

Despite racing as an individual, a relay is the one-time swimming turns into a team sport.

Each relay sees four competitors from a nation compete a quarter of the distance one at a time and as fast as possible.

At the changeover, swimmers must dive off the blocks over the previous swimmer in order to start their legs. The previous swimmer must then exit the water by the side of the pool without interfering with any other nation.

A team will be disqualified if a swimmer dives off the blocks too early in a changeover. The feet of the diver must still be on the diving board when the previous swimmer touches the wall.

In the mixed medley relay, a nation is allowed two male and two female swimmers and is allowed to compete in any order they want, making it a relay of tactics.

What is the maximum distance you can swim underwater before being disqualified?

Competitive swimmers are only allowed to swim a maximum of 15m underwater before breaking the surface both at the start of the race and after each turn.

This is to reduce unfair competition, as swimming underwater can reduce drag and is therefore more efficient.

15m is recorded by a different coloured marker on the lane ropes and if a swimmer exceeds the 15m mark, they will be disqualified.

What are the rules for turning in swimming?

Each turn in swimming is very different depending on the stroke and if not correctly performed, can lead to disqualification.

Freestyle: There must be a touch of the wall with some part of the swimmer’s body in their respective lane. Most swimmers opt for a tumble turn, flipping in the water with their feet touching the wall to push them off. The swimmer must push off the wall on their front or on their side.

Backstroke: As above, however, the swimmer must push off on their back or side.

Breaststroke and Butterfly: At each turn and at the finish of the race, the touch must be made with both hands separated and simultaneously at, above, or below the water level.

Medley: In an individual medley, a swimmer may choose to complete a tumble turn to transition between backstroke and breaststroke. In this case, there must be a touch of the wall with the swimmer's hand whilst on their back or side before turning onto their front and pushing off with their feet.

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What is the order of a medley in swimming?

An individual medley in swimming comprises one competitor swimming all four strokes in the order: Butterfly, backstroke, breaststroke and freestyle (front crawl).

A medley relay is in a different format to the individual, instead going in the order: Backstroke, breaststroke, butterfly and freestyle.

This is due to the fact that a backstroke swimmer must start in the water and therefore allows for each relay change over to be a dive.

Relay events at the Olympics consist of 200m and 400m individual medley (two or four lengths of each stroke), and a men's, women's and mixed 4x100m medley relay (two lengths of each stroke per swimmer).

 

 

How long is a marathon swimming race?

Marathon swimming at the Olympics in 10km for both men and women.

Athletes compete in an open body of water in which the temperature must be between 16 degrees Celsius and 31 degrees Celsius for competition to take place.

After approximately two hours of racing, the final 3km sees a sprint to the finish where athletes must hit a timing pad above their head with their hand to finish the race.

Results are recorded by a wristband each competitor must wear throughout the race.