Freestyle Swimming Stroke

There are five strokes in competitive swimming, one of which is the freestyle swimming stroke, known to be the fastest stroke. In freestyle swimming competitions, the swimmer can use any stroke. The most popular freestyle swimming stroke used in swimming events is the front crawl, which combines alternating arm strokes over the water’s surface with alternate up and down flutter kicks.

While many think of the front crawl as synonymous to the freestyle swimming stroke, technically speaking, freestyle swimming means swimming in any style. It depends on the particular freestyle competition whether swimmers can use only unregulated strokes or regulated strokes such as breaststroke, backstroke, or butterfly.

However, because the front crawl has proven to be the fastest swim stroke, almost all competitors use this as can be seen during the Olympic Games where it remains the preferred freestyle swimming stroke of Olympic swimmers in freestyle events.

Here are some things to remember when doing this popular freestyle swimming stroke:

• Maintain a horizontal position in the water. Always keep your head aligned with your spine.
  
• Kick strongly so your legs will not sink behind you but not too strong that you are making big splashes. Your kicks should be powerful but not forced. With practice, they should come natural to you including how to adjust to a high beat kick from a low one.
  
• Try to stretch out every stroke as much as you can and keep up the non-stop windmill motion of your arms.
  
• Loosen your forearms. Let them hang from your elbows. Stiff forearms will make it harder for you to swing them forward. Your hands should be in a firm cupped position with the fingers just slightly apart. It is important to not, however, that firm does not mean rigid. It is vital that you remain relaxed from your elbows all the way to your fingertips.
  
• Avoid breathing while swimming. You should breathe by turning your head to one side as your arm extends out of the water. Except when breathing and your head is to one side, focus your sight on the pool’s bottom always keeping your head down.

The freestyle swimming stroke requires speed, which demands not only muscle strength but also the use of correct swimming techniques. One can achieve all these through proper and diligent workouts and training, which is necessary in order to become a powerful and successful swimmer.