Olympic Sports Profile: Aquatics

Aquatics have been a part of Olympic sports since 1896.

There were three swimming events at the very first modern Olympic Games in 1896.

The first few modern Olympic Games, before there were universally accepted rules, were host to some events that would seem kind of strange by todays standards. Things like Underwater Swimming, obstacle swimming and plunge for distance were on the menu. Oceans rivers and lakes were used for the events, before the use of a pool was implemented at the London Games.

In 1908, however the rules were unified when eight countries met and formed a world-wide swimming association.

They created standards for record keeping and what events were to be held at all the games.