The history and importance of swimming - Research Proposal Example

The History and Importance of Swimming Introduction. Swimming evolution throughout time reflects a spirit of creative and significant renewal from the technical and sportive points of view. Everything changes in life so it is not unusual that swimming has undergone many changes along the passage of time. Nevertheless, these changes haven't affected the benefits that anybody can experience with the practice of swimming. To have a clearer idea of those changes it is helpful to study the history of swimming. History. Swimming have been practiced since prehistoric times. There are accounts of this activity in the Bible (Isaiah 25:11; Ezekiel 47:5; Acts 25:42) and the Greek poems "The Iliad" and "The Odyssey" by Homer. There have been found "Egyptian clay seals from 4000 BC showing four swimmers doing a version of the crawl (Weil, 1996-2008a). But "the most famous swimming drawings were apparently found in the Kebir desert" (Weil, 1996-2008a). They are dated around 4000 BC. These facts show that swimming has been around since ancient times. Some archeological findings have discovered mosaics and drags from early Middle Easter cities and Pompeii that show men swimming with the dog stroke. Even though the ancient Olympic Games didn't include swimming, "the Greeks practiced the sport, holding it in high regard, as they did all athletic endeavors. In fact, one of the most biting insults one Greek could unleash on another was to discuss him as a man who "neither knew how to run nor swim." Plato considered a man who didn't know how to swim uneducated. () There are frequent representations of swimmers in the Vatican, Borgian and Bourbon codices, and the murals of the Tepantitla House at Teotihuacan (near Mexico City) showed men splashing about the waters of "Tlalocan," paradise of Tlaloc, the god of water. () Both Julius Caesar and Charlemagne were known as great swimmers, and Louis XI frequently took swims in the Seine (USS Swim Fact Pact, n.d.). The Encyclopedia of Tradicional British Rural Sports contains books related to swimming from the Middle Ages. Some scholars believe that the first book about swimming was Colymbetes authored by Nicolas Wynman in 1538. The widely-recognized book entitled De Arte Nantandi by Everard Digby was published in Latin in 1587. That encyclopeidia records the fact that swimming was a requisite for knights and that Romans were used to building bathhouses and pools as they conquered new lands in order to use them as social clubs and exercise places (Weil, 1996-2008a). Moreover, organized swimming had its beginning in the 1800s and 1990s when swimming associations and clubs were founded. The Amateur Swimming Association was established in 1886. So these kinds of clubs spread in England, France, Germany, and the United States. Some North American Indians (Flying Gull and Tobacco) invited to participate in the Swimming Society in England had a strong impact on Londoners due to their innovative swimming technique. But their technique was not copied at that time. After 40 years the Europeans adopted it and revolutionized the world of swimming with the newly-born crawl. Indeed, the crawl was not new at all since the old inhabitants of the Ameritas, West Africa and some Pacific islands were used to swimming that way for generations (USS Swim Fact Pact, n.d.) Another cause for the growing popularity of swimming was the high-profile events that took place during that period such as the feat accomplished by Matthew Webb when he swam across the English Channel (Weil, 1996-2008). "On August 24, 1875, Captain Matthew Webb slipped into the water at Dover, England, and 21 hours and 45 minutes later touched land at Cape Gris Nez, France, becoming the first man to conquer the English Channel. Relying mainly on the breaststroke, he swam some 38 miles in covering a straightline distance of about 20 miles. It wasn't an uneventful trip. Along the way, Captain Webb sang, sipped coffee and beer, ate steaks, was stung by a jellyfish and had to fight his way through a nasty storm." (USS Swim Fact Pact, n.d.). A turning point, in competitive swimming happened in 1896 when it was included in the Olympic Games in Athens. Women were not allowed to play, but in 1912 they began to take part in the Olympic Games in Stockholm. At the turn of the 20th century swimming gained popular acceptance and indoor and outdoor pools were beginning to appear at the same time that clubs increased in number and were mainly places for recreation (Weil, 1996-2008). At the same time, Johnny Weissmuller was the first swimmer to swim 100 meters in less than one minute. Weissmuller is remembered as an actor in the role of Tarzan, and he is considered by experts to be the best swimmer of all time. Weissmuller had an outstanding achievement in the Olympic Games and established 26 world records (Weil, 1996-2008; IOC, 2008). A trip by J. Arthur Trudgen was a key event in the development of swimming as he noticed the special way that some South American Indians swimmed faster than usual. Trudgen improved their technique, and his teachings "turned the swimming emphasis from endurance tos peed, but the revolution was only half complete. The leader in the rest of the battle was another Englishman, Frederick Cavill. Using the tradicional breaststroke, Cavill became a well-known swimmer in England, and in 1878 emigrated to Australia, where he built pools and taught swimming" (USS Swim Fact Pact, n.d.). Then Cavill improved the technique taught by Trudgen and one of his son had an outstanding success with Cavill's technique. His son was responsible for naming this new technique the crawl. The other sons of Cavill were also successful using improvements in the crawl their father had taught them. Another swimmer who made significant achievents was Duke Kahanamoku of Hawai at the beginning of the 20th century using new swimming techniques. (USS Swim Fact Pact, n.d.). Referring to Johnny Weissmuller career, USS Swim Fact Pact states the following: "At the 1924 Paris Games, a gangly, 20-year old American named Johnny Weissmuller pounded past Kahanamoku with this same six-beat cycle, winning the 100 meters in the Olympic record time of 59 seconds flat. Weissmuller picked up two more gold medals at the same Games, and won two at the 1928 Amsterdam Olympics. The 1920's was the Golden Age of Sports and Weissmuller was its golden swimmer. He set World Records in 67 different events, from 50 yards to 880 yards, before trading swimming for swinging through trees and even greater fame as Hollywood's most durable Tarzan " (n.d.) Johnny Weissmuller (Photo). In VintageCulture.Net. The OIympic Games have been responsible for the popularity of swimming from their modern version. One of the most interesting competitions were faced between Duke Kahanamoku and Weissmuller as The Times and The Sunday Times recorded: "The early glamour of the sport opened up vast opportunities to the likes of Duke Paoa Kahanamoku, a Haiwaiian who became a Hollywood actor and won the 1912 and 1920 100 metres freestyle titles. The man who beat him for the title in 1924 would become yet more famous on the silver screen; Johnny Weissmuller, the American who became the first to swim faster than a minute for 100 metres freestyle (in 1922), an event he won at both the 1924 and 1928 Games before going on to become the original Tarzan in Hollywood" (2008a). But the story doesn't stop there since new heroes appeared on the scene of the Olympic Games: "Don Schollander, of the United States, was the first man to win four gold medals at the same Games in swimming. Eight years later, Mark Spitz became an Olympic immortal with that all-time record of seven gold medals at one Games. In the month in which the US Olympic trials and the Munich Olympic Games were staged in the summer of 1972, Spitz set 14 world records, an achievement unsurpassed. Matt Biondi, the Freestyle and butterfly sprinter of the US, won five gold medals in 1988, the closest any man has come to emulating Spitz, whose success was so magnificent that it overshadowed one of the greatest Olympic efforts by a woman swimmer in history. () The last wundermadchen was Kristin Otto, who won six gold medals in 1988, the most ever won at one Games by a woman." (The Times & The Sunday Times, 2008a). All along the history of modern Olympic Games the most successful nation has been the United States, but in men's freestyle races there has been close competition with Australians and Europeans in the last years. Competition is fierce and The Times and The Sunday Times states that "Australia defeated the United States for the first time in terms of gold medal tally at the Pan Pacific championships in 1999. Australian strength lies in its male freestylers, Thorpe, Grant Hackett and Michael Klim, and in Susie O'Neill, the reigning Olympic champion, who aims to remove the longest swimming record - over 200 metres butterfly - from the books. If she does it at Homebush, or even retains her title, the wall of sound from the crowd may itself be the stuff of swimming legend." As it can be seen, the history of swimming is full of excitement, world records, and a remarkable degree of popularity worldwide. Mary Donahuw offers plenty of valuable data about the history of swimming that it is a most to be studied and evaluated (Donahue, 2008). Importance. It is well known that swimming is an all-around exercise since all of the parts of the body get envolved while swimming. Dalton and Dalton (1912-1918) recommends it for all ages, for everybody, young and old. They remark that "it is especially beneficial to nervous people. Swimming reduces corpulency, improves the figure, expands the lungs, improves the circulation of the blood, builds up general health, increases vitality, gives self-confidence in case of danger, and exercises all the muscles in the body at one time. As an aid to development of the muscular system, it excels other sports. Every muscle is brought into play" (1912-1918). Dalton and Dalton emphasizes the important of swimming referring to the practice of swimming in the past: "The importance of being able to swim was very generally recognized in ancient times, notably by the Romans. Roman youth, as early as the Republican era, when trained to bear arms, were made to include in their exercises bathing and swimming in the Tiber, where competitions were frequent. Cassius in his youth became renowned as a swimmer" (1912-1918). But they also stress the importance of swimming in the present time as follows: Swimming, aside from its importance as a possible means to self-preservation in case of shipwreck, the upsetting of pleasure-boats, or any of the numerous accidents that so frequently happen on the water, and also, on occasion, as a means of saving life, is not only one of the best physical exercises known, but when one swims for exercise he is also conscious of receiving great pleasure. Most other forms of exercise, after they have been participated in for some time, are apt to become something like efforts, or even hardships. Swimming, on the other hand, continues to be exhilarating" (1912-1918). On the other hand, Weil gives a list of the benefits of swimming as follows: "Low impact: There's no ground impact when you swim, and so you protect the joints from stress and strain.. Can be continued for a lifetime: Because there's no impact with swimming, it can be continued for a lifetime. Builds cardiorespiratory fitness: Swimming improves endurance. In one study of sedentary middle-aged men and women who did swim training for 12 weeks, maximal oxygen consumption improved 10% and stroke volume (the amount of blood pumped with each beat which indicates heart strength) improved as much as 18%. Builds muscle mass: In a study of men who completed an eight-week swimming program, there was a 23.8% increase in the triceps muscle (the back of the arm). An alternative when injured: When athletes are injured, particularly in the lower extremities, they are frequently told to swim to maintain their fitness level. Swimming helps them stay in shape, and it's even part of the rehabilitation. That's because the resistance of the water makes the muscles work hard without the strain or impact that is experienced on land. It's a break from the summer heat: There's nothing like it during the hot days of summer, whether it's at the beach or in the pool. It's relaxing, the movements are smooth and rhythmic, and it's a great workout. It's a family affair: Swimming and other water activities are something the entire family can share. Burns calories: Swimming burns lots of calories, anywhere from 500-650 per hour depending on how efficiently you swim (you burn more flopping around than swimming cleanly!) and how buoyant you are (the more body fat you have, the more you float and the fewer calories it takes to swim) (Weil, 2008b). Conclusin. Swimming has been practiced since ancient times. At first it was not included in the original Olympic Games, but now it is part of the modern Olympic games. Many records have been established for the delight of the fans. Its benefits reamain to be the same in spite of the improvements made by different swimmers throughout time. The fact that swimming is an all-excersice activity makes swimming a very healthy sport highly recommended by medical doctors. New changes and achievements may lie in the horizon of this sport but its benefits will keep unchanged as one of the most healthy sports of all time. Works Cited Dalton, Eugen, & Dalton, Louis C. Swimming Scientifically Taught: A Practical Manual for Young and Old. 1192-19918. In Project Guttenberg. 5 April 2008. http://www.archive.org/stream/swimmingscientif19065gut/19065.txt Donahue, Mary. History of Swimming Section. 2008, Mar 17. De Anza College. 5 April 2008. . IOC. Johnny Weissmuller: Olympic Tarzan. (2008). International Olympic Committee (IOC). 5 April 2008. < http://www.olympic.org/uk/athletes/profiles/bio_uk.aspPAR_I_ID=50419 > ISHOF. ISHOF Honores. Swimmers. (1965-2007). International Swimming Hall of Fame (ISHOF). Ft. Lauderdale, Florida, USA. 5 April 2008. . Johnny Weissmuller (Photo) Swimming. In VintageCulture.Net. . The Times & The Sunday Times. Ancient Origins. Swimming Coming Home. 1998-2000a. Olympic 2000. London, United Kingdom. 5 April 2008. . The Times & The Sunday Times. Olympic History. 1998-2000b. Olympic 2000. London, United Kingdom. 5 April 2008. . USS Swim Fact Pact Swimming from the Beginning. (no date). In The Washington Post. 5 April 2008. . Weil, Richard (MD, CDE) History of Swimming. (1996-2008a). In MedicineNet.Com. Medical Editor: William C. Shield, Jr. (MD, FACP, FACR). 5 April 2008. . Weil, Richard (MD, CDE) What are the Benefits of Swimming (1996-2008b). In MedicineNet.Com. Medical Editor: William C. Shield, Jr. (MD, FACP, FACR). 5 April 2008. . Read More