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OLYMPICTIONARY
Would you believe that in the first modern Olympics, in 1896, the 1,200-meter freestyle race took place in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea? The swimmers were left in the water by a boat, and the first one to swim back to the shore won the race!
Well, swimming events at the Olympics have come a long way since then. For one thing, they now take place in a swimming pool. Men and women compete in a total of 16 events, using 4 different swimming strokes and swimming between 1 and 30 laps. The four strokes are freestyle, breaststroke, backstroke and butterfly. In some events, called "medleys", swimmers must use all the strokes in one race.
No more than eight swimmers compete in one race. Winners are determined based on time. The swimmer that finishes the race in the shortest time wins. So that they can glide better, and move faster, swimmers often shave off all the hair on their body!
Ones to Watch: Keep you eye on the U.S. team's Lenny Krayzelburg, who won two backstroke events at the 1998 World Championships; Tom Malchow, a silver medallist from the Atlanta games; and Jenny Thompson, who holds the record for the most Olympic gold medals by an American woman. Also keep an eye on Russia's Aleksandr Popov, a four-time Olympic gold winner and Olympic gold medallist Susan O'Neill from Australia.
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