4 The Olympics are the biggest single sporting event in the world Once every four years the world’s elite athletes battle it out for the coveted Olympic gold silver and bronze medals The action takes place over 17 unforgettable days watched by millions on TV the Internet or live at the stadium Swimming Start In 1896 18-year-old Alfréd Hajós from Hungary became swimming’s first Olympic gold medalist when he won the 100 meter freestyle race at the Athens games the first modern Olympics Swimming has been a part of every Olympics since joined by water polo in 1900 diving in Tony Azevedo of the U S tries to pass the ball as Hungary’s Tibor Benedek defends during the men’s water polo final at the 2008 Olympics Players are fast-moving and athletic and water polo draws loyal fans to every Olympics 1904 and synchronized swimming in 1984 All these sports are grouped together as aquatics Going for Gold FEATS AND RECORDS At the 2008 Olympics the design of the pool in Beijing meant that the water was deeper than usual The extra depth may have contributed to the amazing 25 swimming world records that were set during the 2008 Olympics
(cid:45)(cid:82)(cid:75)(cid:81)(cid:81)(cid:92)(cid:3)(cid:58)(cid:72)(cid:76)(cid:86)(cid:86)(cid:80)(cid:88)(cid:79)(cid:79)(cid:72)(cid:85)(cid:3)(cid:90)(cid:82)(cid:81)(cid:3)(cid:191)(cid:89)(cid:72)(cid:3) Olympic gold medals for swimming at the 1924 and 1928 Olympics before he played the role of Tarzan (cid:76)(cid:81)(cid:3)(cid:20)(cid:21)(cid:3)(cid:80)(cid:82)(cid:89)(cid:76)(cid:72)(cid:86)(cid:17)(cid:3)(cid:43)(cid:72)(cid:3)(cid:76)(cid:86)(cid:3)(cid:81)(cid:82)(cid:87)(cid:3)(cid:68)(cid:86)(cid:3)(cid:90)(cid:72)(cid:79)(cid:79)(cid:16) (cid:78)(cid:81)(cid:82)(cid:90)(cid:81)(cid:3)(cid:73)(cid:82)(cid:85)(cid:3)(cid:69)(cid:72)(cid:76)(cid:81)(cid:74)(cid:3)(cid:83)(cid:68)(cid:85)(cid:87)(cid:3)(cid:82)(cid:73)(cid:3)(cid:87)(cid:75)(cid:72)(cid:3)(cid:56)(cid:17)(cid:54)(cid:17)(cid:3) water polo team which won a (cid:69)(cid:85)(cid:82)(cid:81)(cid:93)(cid:72)(cid:3)(cid:80)(cid:72)(cid:71)(cid:68)(cid:79)(cid:3)(cid:68)(cid:87)(cid:3)(cid:87)(cid:75)(cid:72)(cid:3)(cid:20)(cid:28)(cid:21)(cid:23)(cid:3)(cid:50)(cid:79)(cid:92)(cid:80)(cid:83)(cid:76)(cid:70)(cid:86)(cid:17)(cid:3) Superstar New and Old Some aquatics events have made just one appearance at the Olympics These include an underwater swimming race the longest underwater dive and the 4,000 meter freestyle Women’s water polo and synchronized diving were introduced in 2000 and a 10 kilometer open water race came along in 2008 Aquatics Centers Most Olympic swimming diving and water polo events take place in an Olympic aquatics center Olympic pools are 50 meters 164 ft long twice as long as a regular pool Events are measured in meters since the pool is measured in meters The London 2012 aquatic center with its distinctive wave-shaped roof will hold as many as 17,500 people The outdoor pool complex at the Athens 2004 Olympics had no roof This led to complaints from competitors and spectators about the lack of shade from the blazing sun The National Aquatic Center at Beijing was the location for the swimming and diving events for the 2008 Olympics The center was nicknamed the Water Cube and held 17,000 spectators 5
Starting and Finishing A good start and a fast accurate finish help champion swimmers turn a good race into a great one and succeed at winning an Olympic medal The competitors in the 100 meter butterfly semi-final at the 2008 Olympics react to the starter’s gun They power off the blocks into a shallow fast dive Eight Lanes An Olympic pool is divided into eight racing lanes that are usually 2 5 meters 8 2 ft wide There are empty lanes along both sides of the pool The swimmers lanes are separated by rows of plastic discs or floats which help reduce the waves from the swimmers movements At each end there is a turn judge This is an official who checks that every swimmer makes a turn within the rules and in longer races shows swimmers how many lengths or laps they still have to swim A Racing Start All races except for backstroke events start when swimmers step onto a starting platform or block in front of their pool lanes They adopt the ready position and wait for the starter’s orders As soon as they hear the starter’s signal 6
At the 2001 World Swimming Championships Giaan Rooney completed the 4 x 200m relay race for her Australian team in first place Her teammates leapt into the water to celebrate before the other teams had finished This was against the rules and the Australian team was disqualified 7 usually a pistol shot they dive off their blocks and into the water They are allowed to glide up to 15 meters 49 2 ft underwater before surfacing False Starts A swimmer who leaves the block early makes a false start New competitive swimming rules mean that this disqualifies them from the race Officials drop a rope across the pool 15 meters 49 2 ft from the start to let the other swimmers know if this happens Fast Finishes Top swimmers try to speed to the pool wall as they near the finish They try to time their strokes perfectly so they touch the wall with outstretched fingertips Pressure-sensitive touch pads on the wall are connected to electronic timing systems that display the swimmers times These are measured to hundredths of a second which is usually enough to separate the positions in a race Katie Hoff of the United States looks up at the scoreboard to see if she has qualified for the next round of the 800m freestyle competition at the 2008 games FEATS AND RECORDS In 1984 Carrie Steinseifer and Nancy Hogshead both from the U S swam the first recorded official dead heat at an Olympics They swam the 100m freestyle in 55 92 seconds and both won a gold medal
