The swimming competitions at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro are scheduled to take place from 6 to 13 August at the Olympic Aquatics Stadium. The open-water marathon will be held on 15 and 16 August in Fort Copacabana.
A breath-taking sport (literally!), swimming has been in the Olympic Games since Athens 1896. Men and women participate in 16 events, including relays and individual competitions in four strokes – freestyle, breaststroke, butterfly and backstroke. Swimmers must complete a set distance inside the pool, in some cases using any of the above styles, in the shortest possible time
The swimming pool at the Rio Olympics is divided into eight competition lanes, each 2.5m wide.
Most events start from starting blocks, except for backstroke, where the swimmers start from inside the pool. Swimmers must not dive in before the starting pistol is fired – if this happens, a false start is declared and the swimmer at fault is disqualified.
At the Rio Olympics there are 789 athletes from 173 different countries competing in 32 swimming events. You can find out who’s competing from New Zealand at the NZ Olympics website.
Did you know: The pool at the Rio Olympics actually consists of two pools? One for the competition events, and another for warming up. The whole huge building is temporary – it’s designed to be dismantled after the Olympics Games have finished.
School yourself like a fish about swimming! Here’s some awesome books from our library collection:
