Swimming —Olympics: Swimming is a discipline under aquatics. Swimming is a technique used to move through water using only movements of the body. Swimming is an ancient discipline . Swimming is a method for survival in water. This exercise had been acquired by men in the prehistoric days when they had to cross rivers and lakes. Swimming got the status of sport event in early 19 th century . Freestyle , breaststroke , butterfly and backstroke are the four strokes used in swimming .
Swimming in the Summer Games: Swimming was included in the schedule from the very first Summer Games in 1896 . From then on, this sport has been a regular event and the centre of attraction in the Summer Games. In the early Summer Games , events were conducted only in breaststroke or freestyle . Backstroke was included in the schedule in 1904 Summer Games . Then butterfly stroke was introduced in the swimming events . Women's swimming started in 1912 Olympics ; since then men and women have been competing in the Summer Games in almost identical program. Events included in the Olympic men's swimming competition are-- 100 meter backstroke, 100 meter breaststroke, 100 meter butterfly, 100 meter freestyle, 1500 meter freestyle, 200 meter backstroke, 200 meter breaststroke, 200 meter butterfly, 200 meter freestyle, 200 meter individual medley, 400 meter freestyle, 400 meter individual medley, 4x100 meter freestyle relay, 4x100 meter medley relay, 4x200 meter freestyle relay, 50 meter freestyle and marathon 10 kilometer . In the Summer Games , the events included in the women's swimming competition are 100 meter backstroke, 100 meter breaststroke, 100 meter butterfly, 100 meter freestyle, 200 meter backstroke, 200 meter breaststroke, 200 meter butterfly, 200 meter freestyle, 200 meter individual medley, 400 meter freestyle, 400 meter individual medley, 4x100 meter freestyle relay, 4x100 meter medley relay, 4x200 meter freestyle relay, 50 m freestyle, 800 m freestyle and marathon 10 kilometer.
Swimming at the 2008 Summer Games: At the 2008 Summer Games in Beijing, China , the swimming events will be held over a period of 16 days from 9 th August to 21 st August . The conventional events are scheduled to end on 16 th August . The new swimming marathon 10 kilometer events have been programmed on 20 th and 21 st August . The swimming events except the two marathon 10 kilometer events will take place at the Beijing National Aquatics Centre, Olympic Green in the Chaoyang District . The number of gold medals in contention for the Olympic swimming competition is 34 . The United States, Australia and Germany are the leading countries in the field of swimming .
Ian Thorpe, Michael Phelps, Grant Hackett, Aaron Peirsol, Brendan Hansen, Gary Wayne Hall Jr., Duje Draganja, Roland Mark Schoeman, Anthony Ervin, Pieter Cornelis Martijn van den Hoogenband, Klete Keller, Larsen Jensen, David Davies, Matthew Welsh, Roman Sloudnov, Kosuke Kitajima, Daniel Gyurta, Ian Lowell Crocker, Takashi Yamamoto, Ryan Lochte, Erik Vendt, Ashley Callus, Darian Townsend, Nicholas Sprenger, Yoshihiro Okumura are the expected contenders in the men's swimming competition in the twenty-ninth Summer Games .
Inge de Bruijn Malia Metella, Libby Lenton, Jodie Clare Henry, Natalie Anne Coughlin, Camelia Alina Potec, Federica Pellegrini, Laure Manaudou, Brooke Marie Bennett, Otylia Jedrzejczak, Kaitlin Sandeno, Ai Shibata, Yana Klochkova, Diana Mocanu, Kirsty Coventry, Stanislava Komarova, Antje Buschschulte, Megan Jendrick, Luo Xuejuan, Leisel Jones, Ágnes Kovács, Amanda Ray Beard and Georgina Bardach are the expected women contenders in the 2008 Beijing Summer Games.
