Swimming

Swimming is the most closely contested sport on the Olympic programme: four strokes — freestyle, backstroke, breaststroke and butterfly — distances ranging from 50 to 1,500 metres, plus the individual medley, in which a single athlete swims all four strokes, and the relays. Competitions take place in 50-metre pools, with heats in the morning and finals in the evening, and the final placings are often decided by hundredths of a second. Swimming has been practised since ancient times, but it became an organised sport in mid-19th-century England, with the first open-water competitions and the emergence of swimming clubs; it has featured in the modern Olympic Games since 1896, and the international federation was founded in 1908. The butterfly stroke, the last to be codified, was only distinguished from the breaststroke in the 1950s. As well as stroke technique, starts, turns and underwater swimming are crucial: swimmers may swim underwater for up to fifteen metres after the dive and after each turn, and it is there that the decisive tenths of a second are gained or lost. Training combines aerobic work, strength training and meticulous attention to body position in the water. At the 20th Mediterranean Games in Taranto 2026, the swimming events will take place from 22 to 25 August at the Torre d’Ayala Swimming Stadium, with 35 titles up for grabs across the four individual strokes, medleys and relays: it is the discipline with the most medals after athletics.

• 1Competitions take place in a 50-metre pool, with qualifying heats and finals
• 2Four strokes: freestyle, backstroke, breaststroke and butterfly; in the individual medley, all four are swum
• 3After the dive and turns, swimmers may swim a maximum of 15 metres underwater
• 4A false start results in immediate disqualification; in relays, the changeover is timed to the nearest thousandth of a second
• 5In Taranto, 35 titles will be up for grabs from 22 to 25 August at the Torre d’Ayala Swimming Stadium