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Swimming as an activity is ingrained in society. Most children are exposed to it at a very young age, and hence can relate to the sport with tremendous ease. It was no different in the times of the Ancient Olympics in Greece, but for some reason was never included as an Olympic sport. It was considered as a compulsory physical activity in Greek society, so much so that Plato stated, "One who is unable to swim lacks education."

Swimming is one of the 9 sports that has been consistently held at every Olympics since its revival in 1896. Few would believe that the swimming events in the 1st four modern Olympics were held in the Mediterranean Sea, the river Seine and an artificial lake and not, in a swimming pool.

Competitive swimming necessarily involves speed and endurance. Other aquatics sports such as diving and synchronized swimming have a strong artistic element to them, while water polo is about scoring goals. Swimming events consist of four strokes - the butterfly, breaststroke, backstroke and the most common of them all, the freestyle.

The freestyle form of swimming has evolved over a period of time, and was very different about a hundred years ago. Actually, the freestyle as is common today, is technically the front crawl style of swimming. Here, a swimmer rotates his hands in the forward long axial position. Freestyle could also include the backstroke and the doggy paddle. The style was developed by Native Americans, whom the British thought of as swimming in an extremely barbaric manner, because of the splashing of the legs. At that time the British would only do the breaststroke.

If one goes by the official rules of swimming, freestyle competitors may use any of the front crawl, backstroke or doggy paddle to complete the race. Most of them choose the front crawl, as it is the fastest, least energy sapping and most efficient over long distances. The front crawl is where the swimmer breathes to the side with typically one ear staying in the water, kicks by alternating both legs, and pulls with each arm moving in an alternating fashion. The flip or tumble turns are legal and are used nearly universally. The leg movement in freestyle is called the flutter kick. The legs move alternately, with one leg kicking downward while the other leg moves upward. While the legs provide only a small part of the overall speed, they are important to stabilize the body position. The starting position is pretty standard for swimming, the forward dive. After entering the water a brief underwater gliding phase follows, followed by an underwater flutter kick or butterfly kick. This can be done for a maximum of 15 metres underwater, after which the swimmer has to surface and start swimming. Unlike the backstroke, the butterfly stroke, and the breaststroke, the Federation of International Nation Associations (FINA), does not regulate the front crawl.

The short distance freestyle gold in swimming is the most coveted of all the swimming medals. United States and Australia dominate the sport on the world stage.

Brent Hayden who clocked the second fastest time in the world, in the men's 100m freestyle at the Pan-Pacific meet in California is Canada's foremost hope for a few gold medals in the freestyle events. While, former world record holder Eamon Sullivan will hope to recover from a finger injury as he leads the 52-strong Australian team for the Commonwealth Games.

However, in the last edition of the Commonwealth Games, the 50m, 100m and 200m freestyle medals were dominated by England, Canada and South Africa. The Australian men failed to match the performance of their women compatriots. They will look to set the record straight, when their world champions packed swimming team arrives in Delhi. The English and Canadian swimming teams have also improved their contingents from last time in a bid to eat into Australia's medal haul.

India's chances have been dented after national champion Richa Mishra and Jyotsna Pansare tested positive for methylhexaneamine on September 5th, forcing the Federation to drop them from the Commonwealth Games. Maharashtra's Virdhawal Khade and Bangalore's Aaron D'Souza are a few of India's medal hopefuls in the freestyle events.

The Dr.SPM Swimming Pool Complex at the Talkatora Gardends in Delhi will play host to the 2010 Commonwealth Games' Aquatics events. Tickets sales have been encouraging, although the Indian contingents preparations have left a lot to be desired, a decent outing in front of home support is assured.

References:

Wikipedia - 1,2
FINA
SMH
More than the Games