History of swimming

Swimming has been recorded since prehistoric times; the earliest recording of swimming dates back to Stone Age paintings from around 7,000 years ago. In 1578, Nikolaus Wynmann, a German professor of languages, wrote the first swimming book. Swimming was part of the first modern Olympic games which was held in 1896 in Athens. In 1908, the world swimming association, Fédération Internationale de Natation (FINA), was formed. In January 2023, the name was changed from FINA to World Aquatics.

Swimming has been used in political contexts as well as in times of war as a way to defend a country from ancient times to the present. Swimming in the Victorian and Edwardian eras has also been connected to children's activities such as Boy Scouts, in which many scouts had to prove themselves competent in the water, leading to the growth of swimming competitions for young people. In the modern era, swimming has played an important role in the lives of children by helping to break gender norms and by leading to calls for safety regulations around water. The addition of swimming to activities like summer camp has, advocates argue, increased youth self esteem and allowed many kids to express themselves and have fun. Swimming has also been impacted by equal rights movements, with the inclusion of women in the sport, and the inclusion of activities once considered men's events in women's swimming.