Why there are four styles of swimming?

Question

Why there are four styles of swimming, but not running?

What is the use of having the four styles of swimming?

Answer 1

Fartlek to you, young'un!!

Answer 2

breast stroke

back stroke

butterfly

front crawl

please help me with mine:

http://uk.answers.yahoo.com/question/ind...

Answer 3

Actually there is more then four strokes to swimming, but there are only four competitive strokes.  

Competitive strokes

Front crawl (usually called freestyle)

Breaststroke

Butterfly

Backstroke

Non-Competitive strokes

Elementary Backstroke

Sidestroke

Trudgen (used to be a competitive stroke, the front crawl evolved from this stoke)

There are different styles to running (such as jogging, backwards, and sprinting), but the buoyancy of water allows one to try different arm and leg motions while in motion.  

Answer 4

There are different styles of running though - sprinting uses a different technique to distance and then there is jogging. Different swimming strokes require different uses of the muscles so it provides an all round test of ones ability.

Answer 5

History has a lot to do with the number of strokes.

At one time all swimming was "freestyle," meaning you swim what you want to swim.  Backstroke was added in the 1900 olympics in paris as a competitive stroke to add some variety, four years later breaststroke was added.  Butterfly is actually an evolution of breaststroke. The rules at one time didn't say anything about how a swimmers arms must move their arms through the water. In the early 1930's swimmers began swimming breaststroke with an above water recovery, much like the butterfly we know today. Over time the the dolphin kick and butterfly underwater pull was added to make the stroke more or less what we see today. Butterfly was added as official stroke in the 1956 olympics in Melbourne

An interesting little thing about the link between breaststroke and butterfly. From the mid 30's until 1956 there basically was no breaststroke as we know today. During that time, the stroke we now know as butterfly was accepted as a variation of breaststroke and was allowed in competition. It wasn't until 1956 that the rules for breaststroke changed and required swimmers elbows to remain underwater through the entire stroke and recovery.

As someone has already pointed out there are many more than 4 strokes. There are only 3 regulated strokes, meaning they must be swam a certain way. Freestyle is just that, anything goes but the australian crawl is by far the most popular for its speed.

Answer 6

there are way more then that

its for different things some is for breathing better some is for speed it all depends  

Answer 7

Freestyle exists because its the most efficient. Some people cant breath this way or move their arms correctly though.

Breast stroke is less exhuasting but less efficient than freestyle. Easier to breath.

Backstroke is good for people with breathing problems.

Butterfly is for loonies. It is the most demanding of all strokes. Used mainly for training and strength. No one in the history of the world every fell overboard and butterflyed to the closest island.

Answer 8

Um, how many ways can one run??? There's really only one way, unless you count backwards. You don't really change the style, just the speed.

The body supporting environment of water allows you to move your body in different ways to propel itself through the water.

There are 4 styles of swimming currently accepted in the olympics and other major sporting events: Backstroke, breaststroke, butterfly, and freestyle.

This article explains the different types of swimming strokes:

http://swimming.about.com/od/swimmingoly...