Technical details
Swimming: There are strict rules governing the four strokes of swimming (backstroke, breaststroke, butterfly and freestyle) pertaining to leg and arm
movements, starts and turns as well as the length of time swimmers can remain under water.
For all events, competitors take part in heats, with the fastest eight going through to the final. The fastest four swimmers in the final are placed in the
middle four lanes, which have a slight advantage of having less water turbulence. Electronic touch pads are used at each end of the pool to time the
competitors.
Water polo: It has teams consisting of 13 players with seven in the water at
one time, one of whom is a goalkeeper. The playing time is 28 minutes, split
into quarters of seven minutes each.
Diving: For diving events, different styles are allocated five different
degrees of difficulty which are used to determine scores. Styles of diving
include front, back, reverse, inward, twist and armstand and points are awarded
according to technique and grace. Judges take into account the starting
position, the run, the take-off, the flight, and the entry (which should be
perpendicular).
The marks awarded are then multiplied by the degree of difficulty to give the
final score, with the diver scoring the highest winning. At the Olympic Games
there is always a preliminary, semi-final and final competition. There are two
heights, the 3m springboard and the 10m platform, which is firm.
Synchronised Swimming: It has been said that synchronised swimmers need to
combine the strength of a 400m swimmer with the lifting power of a water polo player and add the elegance of a dancer. Synchronised swimmers compete in teams
of eight and complete two routines. Four judges look at technical merit and artistic impression.
Five facts
1) The first Olympic Games of the modern era had just one swimming event, a
100m freestyle for sailors, swum in the sea.
2) Women's events began in 1912, in Stockholm, with the 100m freestyle, 400m
team and plain diving.
3) Synchronised diving, or diving in pairs, was introduced in the Sydney 2000
Games.
4) Britain's Henry Taylor won a total of eight Olympic medals between 1906 and
1920. He also won a medal in the same event (the freestyle relay) at four
successive Games. Jennie Fletcher winning bronze for the 100m freestyle in 1912
was Great Britain's first woman Olympic swimming medallist. At the same Games,
she was part of the relay team (4x100m freestyle) that won gold.
5) Great Britain has won a total of 15 golds, 23 silvers and 28 bronze medals
in swimming, as well as gold in water polo in 1900, 1908, 1912 and 1920.
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