Discipline: Butterfly

About

• Butterfly was a stroke that evolved from breaststroke swimmer attempting to modify their stroke to increase speed.

• In 1933, US swimmer Henry Myers swam a breaststroke competition (not the Olympics) using a new technique known as butterfly. While illegal in many early competitions, during the 1936, 1948 and 1952 Olympics, swimmers in breaststroke events were allowed to use either the traditional or butterfly styles.

• The 1956 in Melbourne were the first games to feature the Butterfly as a separate competition.

• In this stroke, you swing both arms forward above the water and then pull them down and back to your legs. As your arms start to move toward your legs, you lift your head forward and take a breath. As your reload your arms forward again, swimmers dive their heads back under water and exhale. The stroke is then repeated.

• The kick is a powerful motion made with both legs held together and moved in a wave-like motion underwater, known as a dolphin kick. During each single arm stroke, a swimmer makes two dolphin kicks, one as your hands enter the water and the other as your arms pass under your body.

• Many swimmers consider it the most difficult stroke.

• The butterfly races each cover 100 and 200 meters.

Photo Courtesy of Confederação Brasileira de Desportos Aquáticos Credit: Satiro Sodré

Rules

• All up and down movements of the legs must be simultaneous. The legs or the feet need not be on the same level, but they shall not alternate in relation to each other. A breaststroke kicking movement is not permitted.

• The referee shall have full control and authority over all officials, approve their assignments, and instruct them regarding all special features or regulations related to the competitions. He shall enforce all rules and decisions of FINA and shall decide all questions relating to the actual conduct of the meet, and event or the competition, the final settlement of which is not otherwise covered by the rules.

• The best competitive times of all entrants for the preceding twelve (12) months prior to the entry deadline of the competition, shall be submitted on entry forms and listed in order of time by the Management Committee. Swimmers who do not submit official recorded times shall be considered the slowest and shall be placed at the end of the list with a no time. Placement of swimmers with identical times or of more than one swimmer without times shall be determined by draw. Swimmers shall be placed in lanes according to the procedures set forth in SW 3.1.2. below. Swimmers shall be placed in trial heats according to submitted times in the following manner.

• Where no preliminary heats are necessary, lanes shall be assigned in accordance with SW 3.1.2 above. Where preliminary heats or semi-finals have been held, lanes shall be assigned as in SW 3.1.2 based, however, on times established in such heats.

• In the event that swimmers from the same or different heats have equal times registered to 1/100 second for either the eighth place or sixteenth place, there shall be a swim-off to determine which swimmer shall advance to the appropriate finals. Such swim-off shall take place not less than one hour after all involved swimmers have completed their heat. Another swim-off shall take place if equal times are registered again.

Photo Courtesy of Confederação Brasileira de Desportos Aquáticos Credit: Satiro Sodré

List of Events

• Men’s 100 M
• Women’s 100 M
• Men’s 200 M
• Women’s 200 M

Medals for 2004 Summer Olympics

Men

Event	Gold	Silver	Bronze
Men’s 100 M	Michael Phelps, USA, 51.25	Ian Crocker, USA, 51.29	Andriy Serdinov, UKR, 51.36
Men’s 200 M	Michael Phelps, USA, 1:54.04	Takashi Yamamoto, JPN, 1:54.56	Stephen Parry, GBR, 1:55.52

Women

Event	Gold	Silver	Bronze
Women’s 100 M	Petria Thomas, AUS, 57.72	Otylia Jedrzejczak, POL, 57.84	Inge de Bruijn, NED, 57.99
Women’s 200 M	Otylia Jedrzejczak, POL, 2:06.05	Petria Thomas, AUS, 2:06.36	Yuko Nakanishi, JPN, 2:08.04

World Record Holder

Men’s:
• 100m butterfly Ian Crocker, USA 50.40 July 30, 2005
• 200m butterfly Michael Phelps, USA 1:52.09 March 28, 2007

Women’s:
• 100m butterfly Inge de Bruijn, NED 56.61 Sept. 17, 2000
• 200m butterfly Jessicah Schipper, AUS 2:05.40 Aug. 17, 2006

Olympic Record Holder

Men’s:
• 100m Michael Phelps, USA 51.25 Aug. 20, 2004
• 200m Tom Malchow, USA 1:55.35 Sept. 19, 2000

Women’s:
• 100m Inge de Bruijn, NED 56.61 Sept. 17, 2000
• 200m Misty Hyman, USA 2:05.88 Sept. 20, 2000

To read this page in portuguese, click here.

To learn more about olympic aquatic events, read:

• Quick Facts About Olympic Aquatic Events - Backstroke
• Quick Facts About Olympic Aquatic Events - Breaststroke
• Quick Facts About Olympic Aquatic Events - Freestyle

Sources:

• The International Olympic Committee, UK edition; http://www.olympic.org/uk/index_uk.asp
• The Official Site of the Beijing Games; http://en.beijing2008.cn/
• World Book Online Encyclopedia; www.worldbook.com
• Hickok Sports: A database of sports records; www.hickoksports.com