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Freestyle swimming

Freestyle is a category of swimming competition, defined by the rules of the International Swimming Federation (FINA), in which competitors are subject to few limited restrictions on their swimming stroke. Freestyle races are the most common of all swimming competitions, with distances beginning with 50 meters (50 yards) and reaching 1500 meters (1650 yards), also known as the mile. The term freestyle is sometimes used incorrectly as a synonym for front crawl, when in fact it means one is mostly free to choose a style.


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In 1844, a swimming race held in London was won across the board by Native American swimmers, who all swam using the freestyle. The British swimmers declared the much faster freestyle stroke barbaric, and continued to only use the breaststroke.

Contributed by Sara Cornett

How to swim Freestyle tutorial.

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