Butterfly stroke

Butterfly, often shortened to "fly," is a special way of swimming that people use in races. Swimmers move forward with both arms moving together in a smooth motion. They also use a kick called the dolphin kick, which moves their legs up and down like a fish. This style helps them move quickly through the water.

Butterfly swimming started in the early 1950s. It came from another swimming style called breaststroke. Today, it is one of the fastest ways to swim in competitions. Most competitive swimmers find it to be the second fastest stroke, just a little slower than front crawl.

Because it is very fast but also very hard to do, butterfly is a great challenge for swimmers who want to test their strength and skill. It requires strong muscles and good breathing control, making it exciting to watch in races.

Technique

Butterfly is a swimming style where both arms move together in front of the body, and the legs move up and down in a dolphin kick. The body moves like a wave from head to toe, helping the arms work together smoothly. Swimmers practice this stroke by mixing short, fast swims with longer, steady ones to stay efficient even when tired.

Each butterfly stroke has two kicks and one arm movement. The arms start by entering the water above the head and moving out to the sides before pulling back towards the body. This motion helps push the swimmer forward. As the arms move, the legs kick up and down, matching the arm movements to keep the rhythm.

Start, turn and finish

Butterfly swimming starts from a diving block in competitions. After the start, swimmers glide underwater and do dolphin kicks before coming up for air. This underwater phase saves energy because it reduces resistance from the water. Swimmers are allowed to stay underwater for 15 meters before they must surface.

When turning or finishing a race, swimmers must touch the wall with both hands at the same time while staying face down. They bend their elbows slightly to push off the wall and turn to the side. One hand moves underwater to the front, and the other moves over water. This is called an "over/under turn" or an "open turn." After touching the wall with both legs, swimmers push off underwater in a streamlined position, gliding for a short distance before doing dolphin kicks again. They can stay underwater for another 15 meters before surfacing.

History

The butterfly stroke is a swimming style where both arms move together and the swimmer kicks in a special way called the dolphin kick. It started to develop in the early 1900s when swimmers tried new ways to move their legs during breaststroke, a different swimming style.

In the 1930s, swimmers began experimenting with moving their arms in a new way too, which looked like a flying fish coming out of the water. This new arm movement made races more exciting to watch. By the 1950s, these ideas came together to form the full butterfly stroke, which became its own event in Olympic swimming in 1956.

FINA butterfly stroke rules

Starting from January 1, 2023, there are specific rules for the butterfly stroke in swimming competitions. Swimmers must keep their body straight and not roll onto their back except when turning after touching the wall. Both arms must move forward together above the water and backward together under the water during the race.

The legs must move up and down together, and both hands must touch the wall at the same time during turns and at the finish. Swimmers can kick their legs and pull with one arm under the water at the start and turns, but they must come to the surface within 15 meters and stay there until the next turn or finish.

Olympic and world long-course champions in butterfly

Men

Women