Competitive Butterfly Stroke

The butterfly stroke is one of the four competitive strokes in the sport of swimming. It is regarded as the most challenging of the strokes because of the intense demands on the muscles and the speed with which the swimmer must make such demands. Comprehensive knowledge of the stroke starts with its origin.

  1. History

    • Although the sport of swimming began in the 1800s in England, it wasn't until 1934 that the butterfly stroke developed as an outgrowth of the breaststroke. David Armbruster, University of Iowa swim coach, determined that the double over water arm stroke was faster than the breaststroke's underwater pull. A year later, one of Armbruster's swimmers, Jack Sieg, was learning to kick his legs in unison instead of fluttering. Eventually they combined the two methods to form the butterfly stroke, and it was made an official separate swim stroke in the late 1950s.

    Technique

    • To swim the butterfly stroke, begin like you would the breaststroke with arms outstretched in streamline position. Use your arms to push down against the water so that your body propels upward. Your thumbs should just graze your thighs as your arms cycle back out of the water. Kick your legs together in a dolphin-like motion as your arms come out of the water. The brief second in which you have pushed your upper body out of the water is your opportunity to take a quick breath. Other than when you need to breathe, keep your chin against your chest to create the least resistance possible. Other than the great muscle demands, the most challenging aspect of the butterfly is finding the rhythm of kicking and pulling. This will come with practice.

    Muscles Used

    • The butterfly stroke can be extremely taxing on the body. The deltoid and trapezius muscles around the shoulders are the main focus of the stroke's upper body portion. The core muscles in the abdomen and lower back allow the swimmer to effectively combine the upper and lower body motions. The buttocks, or gluteus maximus muscles, are essential to the two-legged kick, and the hamstrings help the legs to kick backward instead of scissors-style such as in other strokes.

    Competitions

    • The butterfly stroke can be competed in three official races. There is the 50m, 100m and 200m race. As with all swimming events, swimmers are divided by sex, males racing males and females racing females. Each race begins with the swimmer on a starting block, the dive, the race and then the final touch on the wall. The only other instances of the butterfly stroke in competitions are the medley relay race in which all four official strokes are performed, one by each swimmer, and the individual medley, which requires one swimmer to perform all four strokes in one race.

    World Records

    • As of 2010, these are the current world-record holders for the butterfly stroke, according to FINA: Males--50m: Rafael Munoz, Spain, 22.43; 100m: Michael Phelps, USA, 49.82; 200m: Michael Phelps, USA, 1:51.51; Females--50m: Therese Alshammar, Sweden, 25.07; 100m: Sarah Sjostrom, Sweden, 56.06; 200m: Liu Zige, China, 2:01.81.