Backstroke

Backstroke is a fun way to swim that many people enjoy. Swimmers do this style lying on their backs, which makes breathing easy because their faces stay above the water. However, this also means they can't see where they are going while swimming!

Backstroke is one of the four main swimming styles used in big races watched by FINA. It looks like an upside-down version of the front crawl, another popular swimming style. Both styles help swimmers move smoothly down the length of the pool.

The start of a backstroke race is special. It is the only race where swimmers begin from the water. They push off from the wall and swim a little bit underwater before coming up for air. When turning at the end of the pool, swimmers flip over to touch the wall and then push off again. They must finish the race lying on their back.

Backstroke has been swum for a long time. It became well-known because of Harry Hebner. The first time backstroke was raced in the Olympics was during the 1900 Paris Olympics men's 200 meter event.

There are three common distances for competitive backstroke swimming: 50 m, 100 m, and 200 m. Backstroke is also part of the medley races, which mix different swimming styles together.