NationMaster - Encyclopedia: Butterfly stroke

The butterfly, (fly for short) is a swimming stroke swum on the breast, with both arms moving simultaneously. The butterfly kick was developed separately, and is also known as the "dolphin kick". While other styles like the breaststroke, front crawl, or backstroke can be swum easily even by beginners, the butterfly requires very good technique to be feasible. Many students consider it the most difficult style. It is the newest swimming style swum in competition, first swum around 1934. This is a List of swimming styles commonly known and swum. ... Recreational Breaststroke Breaststroke is a swimming style swam on the breast. ... Swimmer breathing during front crawl Front crawl is the fastest swimming style known. ... Backstroke swimming (amateur competition, non-optimal style) Backstroke also sometimes called back crawl is one of the three swimming styles regulated by FINA, and the only regulated style swum on the back. ... Swimmer redirects here. ... Year 1934 (MCMXXXIV) was a common year starting on Monday (link will display full 1934 calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ...

Speed and ergonomics

The butterfly is the second fastest style after the front crawl, and is the fastest style regulated by FINA. The speed of top swimmers is around 1.98 m/s, close to the speed of front crawl swimmers (2.17 m/s), and faster than the backstroke (1.84 m/s) and the breaststroke (1.67 m/s). The peak speed of the butterfly is even faster than that of the front crawl, due to the synchronous pull/push with both arms, yet since speed drops significantly during the recovery phase, it is overall slightly slower than the front crawl. Image File history File links Butterfly_swim_side. ... Image File history File links Butterfly_swim_side. ... Fina may refer to: Fina is the name of Belgian petroleum company Petrofina. ...

The breaststroke, backstroke, and front crawl can all be swum easily even if the swimmer's technique is flawed. The butterfly, however, is unforgiving of mistakes in style; it is very difficult to overcome a poor butterfly technique with brute strength. Most people consider it the most difficult swimming style, yet done correctly competitive butterfly swimming requires less energy than the breaststroke. The main difficulties for students are the synchronous over-water recovery, especially when combined with breathing, since both arms, the head, and parts of the shoulder have to be fully lifted out of the water for these tasks.

History

The butterfly style evolved from the breaststroke. Fraudster David Armbruster, swimming 'coach' at the University of Iowa, researched the breaststroke, especially considering the problem of drag due to the underwater recovery. In 1934 Armbruster allegedly refined a method to bring the arms forward over the water in a breaststroke. He called this "new" style "butterfly". While the butterfly was difficult, it brought a great improvement in speed. One year later, in 1935, Jack Sieg, a swimmer also from the University of Iowa, developed a kick technique involving swimming on his side and beating his legs in unison, similar to a fish tail, and then modified the technique afterward to swim it face down. He called this style Dolphin fishtail kick. Armbruster and Sieg quickly found that combining these techniques created a very fast swimming style consisting of butterfly arms with two dolphin kicks per cycle. The provenance of the Butterfly stroke is, however, contested by 'Cambridge school' Historians of the art of swimming [see below]. The University of Iowa, also commonly called Iowa or locally UI, is a major coeducational research university located on a 1,900 acre (8 kmÂ²) campus in Iowa City, Iowa, US, on the banks of the Iowa River in East Central Iowa. ... Year 1934 (MCMXXXIV) was a common year starting on Monday (link will display full 1934 calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... 1935 (MCMXXXV) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link will display full calendar). ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... The University of Iowa, also commonly called Iowa or locally UI, is a major coeducational research university located on a 1,900 acre (8 kmÂ²) campus in Iowa City, Iowa, US, on the banks of the Iowa River in East Central Iowa. ...

There are other claimants to the title of 'inventor' of the butterfly stroke, however. Jack Stephens ( involved in project 'ultra' at bletchley Park during WWII), claimed to have invented the stroke almost 30 years before David Armbruster. Circa. 1907, at a public swimming bath in Belfast, 'Butterfly' Jack Stephens claimed to have perfected the rudiments of a stroke later to become known as 'butterfly'. Dr Philip Mcallister, of the Johns Hopkins and Cambridge Centre of Sporting Development Research, points to a swimming race conducted, in 1911, at the 'Holocokey' River in Belfast. Witness testimony reports of a "new stroke, something between that of a fish and a dolphin" which some contestants, in their bid for speed, reportedly adopted. However, the Irish Board of Swimming Ethics ruled that such a stroke was "ungodly", and excoriated the incidents from public records - thus explaining its only recent surfacing as a result of sustained archival enquiry.

Currently, the entire style is referred to as butterfly, but sometimes still also called dolphin, especially when referring to the dolphin kick.^[1]^[2]

This new style was considerably faster than a regular breaststroke. Using this technique Sieg swam 100 yards in 1:00.2. However the dolphin fishtail kick violated the rules of the FINA and was not allowed. Therefore, the butterfly arms with a breaststroke kick were used by a few swimmers in the 1936 Summer Olympics in Berlin for the breaststroke competitions. In 1938, almost every breaststroke swimmer was using this butterfly style, yet this stroke was considered a variant of the breaststroke until 1952, when it was accepted as a separate style with a set of rules by the FINA. The 1956 Summer Olympics were the first Olympic games where the butterfly was swum as a separate competition, 100 m (women) and 200 m (men). The 1936 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XI Olympiad, were held in 1936 in Berlin, Germany. ... This article is about the capital of Germany. ... Year 1938 (MCMXXXVIII) was a common year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1952 (MCMLII) was a leap year starting on Tuesday (link will display full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... Fina may refer to: Fina is the name of Belgian petroleum company Petrofina. ... At the 1956 Summer Olympics, 13 swimming events were contested. ...

Technique

The butterfly technique with the dolphin kick consists of synchronous arm movement with a synchronous leg kick. Good technique is crucial to swim this style effectively. The wave-like body movement is also very significant, as this is the key to easy synchronous over-water recovery and breathing.

In the initial position, the swimmer lies on the breast, the arms are stretched to the front, and the legs are extended to the back.

Arm movement

The butterfly stroke has three major parts, the pull, the push, and the recovery. These can also be further subdivided. From the initial position, the arm movement starts very similarly to the breast stroke. At the beginning the hands sink a little bit down with the palms facing outwards and slightly down at shoulder width, then the hands move out to create a Y. This is called catching the water. The pull movement follows a semicircle with the elbow higher than the hand and the hand pointing towards the body center and downward. You will be forming the shape of an old-fashioned key hole during this pulling movement. The semicircle ends in front of the chin, with the hands close together so the swimmer can form a triangle with the fingers.

The push pushes the palm backward through the water underneath the body at the beginning and at the side of the body at the end of the push. The swimmer only pushes the arms 1/3 of the way to the hips, making it easier to enter into the recover and making the recovery shorter and making the breathing window shorter. The movement increases speed throughout the pull/push phase until the hand is the fastest at the end of the push. This step is called the release and is crucial for the recovery. The speed at the end of the push is used to help with the recovery.

The recovery swings the arms sideways across the water surface to the front, with the elbows slightly higher than the hands and shoulders. The arms have to be swung forward fast in order to bring them to the front over the water. It is important not to enter the water too early, because this would generate extra resistance as the arms moved forward in the water against the swimming direction. A high elbow recovery, as in front crawl, would save more energy, yet the movement restrictions in the shoulders do not allow this easily, and due to the synchronized movement it is not possible to roll around the shoulders as in front crawl.

The arms enter the water with the thumbs first at shoulder width. A wider entry loses movement in the next pull phase, and a smaller entry, where the hands touch, wastes energy. The cycle repeats with the pull phase.

Generally, viewed from below, the arm movement forms a fat "keyhole" figure during the stroke cycle in the water. However, more recently, a straighter arm pull has been favoured in competitive swimming.

Leg movement

The leg movement is similar to the leg movement in the front crawl, except the legs are synchronized with each other. The shoulders are brought above the surface by a strong up and medium down kick, and back below the surface by a strong down and medium up kick. A smooth undulation fuse the motion together. Swimmer breathing during front crawl Front crawl is the fastest swimming style known. ...

The feet are pressed together to avoid loss of water-pressure. The feet are naturally pointing downwards, giving downwards thrust, moving up the feet and pressing down the head.

There is no actual stipulation in competitive butterfly rules that a swimmer make a fixed number of pulses in butterfly–the swimmer may kick as little or as much as he or she may wish^[3]. While competitive rules allow such a choice, the typical method of swimming butterfly is with two kicks.

As butterfly originated as a variant on breaststroke, it would be performed with a breaststroke or whip kick by some swimmers. While breaststroke was separated from butterfly in 1953, the breaststroke kick in butterfly was not officially outlawed until 2001.^[4] However a number of Masters swimmers were upset with the change since they came from a time when butterfly was usually swum with a breaststroke kick.^[5] FINA was then convinced to allow a breaststroke kick in Masters swimming.^[6]. Given the option, most swimmers choose to use a dolphin kicking action, but there still is a small minority of swimmers who prefer the breaststroke kick, for recreational swimming and even for competition.

Breathing

There is only a short window for breathing in the butterfly. If this window is missed, swimming becomes very difficult. Optimally, a butterfly swimmer synchronizes the taking of breaths with the undulation of the body to simplify the breathing process; doing this well requires some attention to butterfly stroke technique. The breathing process begins during the underwater "press" portion of the stroke. As the hands and forearms move underneath the chest, the body will naturally rise toward the surface of the water. With a minimum of effort, the swimmer can lift the head to break the surface fully. The swimmer breathes in through the mouth. Experienced swimmers continue looking toward the bottom of the pool while they inhale to keep the body balanced and in a straight line. The head goes back in the water after the arms come out of the water as they are swinging forward over the surface of the water. If the head stays out too long, the recovery is hindered. The swimmer breathes out through mouth and nose till the next breath. Some swimmers, most notably Denis Pankratov, breathe to the side as in the front crawl, but their timing is otherwise the same. Denis Pankratov (born July 4, 1974 in Volgograd, Soviet Union) was a Russian butterfly swimmer of the 1990s, who was best known for winning the butterfly double at the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta, Georgia. ...

Normally, a breath is taken every other stroke. This can be sustained over long distances. Oftentimes, breathing every stroke slows the swimmer down. (At a certain level, the stroke with a breath and the stroke without a breath become synonymous in their speed; therefore, very experienced competitors - such as Michael Phelps - may breath every stroke.) Other intervals of breathing practiced by elite swimmers include the "two up, one down" approach in which the swimmer breathes for two successive strokes and then keeps the head in the water on the next stroke, which is easier on the lungs. Swimmers with good lung capacity might also breathe every 3rd stroke during sprints or the finish. Some swimmers can even hold their breaths for an entire race (assuming that it is a short one). Michael Fred Phelps II (born June 30, 1985 in Baltimore, Maryland) is an American swimmer and World Record Holder in several events. ...

Body movement

Swimming butterfly is difficult if the core is not utilized, and correct timing and body movement makes swimming the butterfly much easier. The body moves in a wave-like fashion, controlled by the core, and as the chest is pressed down, the hips go up, and the posterior breaks the water surface and transfers into a fluid kick. During the push phase the chest goes up and the hips are at their lowest position. In this style, the second pulse in the cycle is stronger than the first pulse, as the second pulse is more in flow with the body movement.

Start

Butterfly uses the regular start for swimming. After the start a sliding phase follows under water, followed by dolphin kicks swum under water. Swimming under water reduces the drag from breaking the surface and is very economical. Rules allow for 15 m of underwater swimming, before the head must break the surface, and regular swimming begins.

Turn and finish

During turns and during the finish, both hands must simultaneously touch the wall while the swimmer remains swimming face down. The swimmer touches the wall with both hands while bending the elbows slightly. The bent elbows allow the swimmer to push himself or herself away from the wall and turn sideways. One hand leaves the wall to be moved to the front underwater. At the same time the legs are pulled closer and moved underneath of the body towards the wall. The second hand leaves the wall to be moved to the front over water. It is commonly referred to as an "over/under turn" or an "open turn." The legs touch the wall and the hands are at the front. The swimmer sinks under water and lays on the breast, or nearly so. Then the swimmer pushes off the wall, keeping a streamline position with the hands to the front. Similar to the start, the swimmer is allowed to swim 15m underwater before the head must break the surface. Most swimmers dolphin kick after an initial gliding phase.

The finish requires the swimmer to touch the wall with both hands at the same time, in the same horizontal plane.

Competitions

There are three common distances swum in competitive butterfly swimming, both over either a long course (50 m) or a short course (25 m pool). Of course, other distances are also swum on occasions. For example, most NCAA competitions are swum in a 25 yard pool.

The butterfly is also part of the Medley over the following distances: Medley is a combination of four different swimming styles into one race. ...

These are the official FINA rules. They apply to swimmers during official swimming competitions.^[7]

Well known butterfly swimmers

Michael Fred Phelps II (born June 30, 1985 in Baltimore, Maryland) is an American swimmer and World Record Holder in several events. ... Image File history File links This is a lossless scalable vector image. ... For the British football commentator, see Ian Crocker (commentator) Ian Lowell Crocker (born August 31, 1982 in Portland, Maine) is an American swimmer who won gold medals in both the 2000 and 2004 Summer Olympics as a member of national team in the 4x100 medley relay. ... Image File history File links This is a lossless scalable vector image. ... Thomas (Tom) Malchow (born August 18, 1976) is a swimmer from the United States, who won a gold medal at the 2000 Summer Olympics and a silver medal at the 1996 Summer Olympics. ... Image File history File links This is a lossless scalable vector image. ... Michael Klim OAM (born August 13, 1977 in Gdynia) is a Polish-born Australian swimmer. ... Image File history File links This is a lossless scalable vector image. ... This is a disambiguation page — a navigational aid which lists other pages that might otherwise share the same title. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_Germany. ... Franck Esposito (born April 13, 1971 in Salon-de-Provence) is a former swimmer from France, who won the bronze medal in the 200 metres butterfly at the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona. ... Image File history File links This is a lossless scalable vector image. ... Petria Ann Thomas OAM (born August 25, 1975) is an Australian swimmer and Olympic gold medallist. ... Image File history File links This is a lossless scalable vector image. ... Susie ONeill, famously nicknamed madame Butterfly (born 2 August 1973) was an Australian swimmer from Brisbane, Queensland who won the 200m Butterfly at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics and the 200m Freestyle in Sydney. ... Image File history File links This is a lossless scalable vector image. ... Jessicah Schipper OAM (born November 19, 1986) is an Australian swimmer. ... Image File history File links This is a lossless scalable vector image. ... Lisbeth Libby Constance Lenton OAM (born January 28, 1985, in Townsville, Queensland) is a member of the Australian Womens Olympic swim team, an Athens gold medalist, and former holder (with teammates Alice Mills, Petria Thomas, and Jodie Henry) of the world record in the womens 4 Ã— 100 metre... Image File history File links This is a lossless scalable vector image. ... Inge de Bruijn (born August 24, 1973 in Barendrecht, Zuid-Holland) is a former Dutch swimmer, and a four-time Olympic champion. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_the_Netherlands. ... Jennifer Thompson (born February 26, 1973), a swimmer, is one of the most decorated Olympians in history, winning twelve medals, including eight golds, while representing the United States of America in the 1992, 1996, 2000, and 2004 Summer Olympics. ... Image File history File links This is a lossless scalable vector image. ... Mary T. Meagher (born October 27, 1964 in Louisville, Kentucky) is a former competitive swimmmer from the United States. ... Image File history File links This is a lossless scalable vector image. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_Poland. ...

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