Swimming
Swimming was one of the eight original sports at the first Paralympic Games in Rome, Italy, in 1960. It was also one of the most popular, with 77 athletes from 15 countries competing in 62 medal events. At the London 2012 Paralympic Games, 600 athletes from 74 countries competed in 148 medal events, maintaining swimming as one of the largest sports in the Paralympic Games.
The rules of Paralympic swimming are similar to those of its Olympic counterpart. Swimmers are seeded into heats according to entry times. Seeding also determines the lane each athlete will swim in, with the faster seeds being closer to the center lanes of the pool. The top eight swimmers in each event progress to the final.
One notable difference from Olympic competition is that athletes, rather than diving, athletes may choose to sit on the platform or be in the water to begin competition. The way an athlete starts is determined by the athlete’s sport class and/or personal preference. In addition, swimmers with visual impairments have someone—usually a coach—acting as a “tapper.” At each turn, some part of the swimmer’s body must touch the end wall of the pool. The tapper uses a long pole with a padded end to tap the swimmer on the head when he or she is close to the wall, indicating when the swimmer should turn or finish the race.
TIMELINE
1960
Men’s and women’s swimming debuts at the first Paralympic Games in Rome
1994
First International Paralympic Committee (IPC) Swimming World Championships held in Malta
Swimmers may compete in up to seven individual events at various distances in the Paralympic Games: freestyle (50-meter [50m], 100m, 200m, 400m), butterfly (50m, 100m), backstroke (50m, 100m), breaststroke (50m, 100m) and the individual medley (150m, 200m). Athletes also compete in two relays: freestyle and medley. Not all events are offered for all sport classes, and the distance depends on the sport class.
Paralympic swimming pools are the standard Olympic size, measuring 50 meters (164 feet) in length. The competition pool must have a minimum of eight lanes, each of which is 2.5 meters (8 feet) wide.
While competing, no prosthetics or assistive devices may be worn. Athletes are also required to wear competition suits approved by the International Swimming Federation (FINA).
Historic excellence: Just seven countries—Australia, France, Germany, Great Britain, Israel, the Netherlands and the United States—have medaled in swimming in every Paralympic Games since 1960. As of the 2012 closing ceremony in London, the United States has won 652 medals in Paralympic swimming, 253 of them gold. The next closest country is Great Britain with 634 medals, 201 of them gold.
London 2012: Team USA earned 41 medals in swimming at the London 2012 Paralympic Games. Of those medals, 14 were gold, 13 silver and 14 bronze.
All hail: U.S. swimmer Trischa Zorn is the most decorated athlete in the history of the Paralympic Games. She competed in swimming in 1980, 1984, 1988, 1992, 1996, 2000 and 2004, winning a career total 55 Paralympic medals (41 gold, nine silver, five bronze).
Brad Snyder has been a swimmer ever since his dad got him into the sport as a child. The family lived in Florida, and with the beach nearby, swimming seemed a natural fit to burn off the 11-year-old's excess energy. After competing in high school and helping his team win conference and district titles, Snyder went on to the Naval Academy, where he was the swim team captain. Upon graduation, he joined the Navy's elite bomb-disposal squad.
In September 2011, Snyder was on duty in an Afghan farm field when his life changed forever. A bomb went off, and in his rush to help two Afghan soldiers wounded in the blast, he stepped on another hidden bomb. Snyder kept his life and his limbs, lost his eyesight and barely skipped a beat. He was back in the pool after only a few months. The swimming helped to restore his confidence, and just five months after the accident, he competed in a meet at the U.S. Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs—and qualified for national trials.
Exactly one year after his injury, the U.S. Navy veteran won gold in the 400m freestyle at the London 2012 Paralympic Games. Overall he competed in seven events, winning two golds (100m freestyle, 400m freestyle) and one silver (50m freestyle).
CLASSIFICATION
Paralympic swimming competition is open to male and female athletes from all three impairment groups (visual, intellectual and physical). A system of letters and numbers is used to distinguish the sport classes; “S” is for freestyle, backstroke and butterfly; “SB” is for breaststroke; and “SM” is for individual medley.
Note: The models presented below are examples. A classification evaluation must be performed to determine an athlete’s sport class(es).
Physical Impairment
Visual Impairment
Intellectual Impairment
Swimmers with physical impairments compete in sport classes 1–10. Swimming combines athletes with different types of physical impairments, so you might see an amputee line up next to an athlete with a spinal cord injury. The impact of each athlete’s impairment on swim performance, however, is similar within each sport class. A lower number indicates the athlete has an impairment that more severely disrupts activity.
Breaststroke (SB) is categorized separately from the other events (S—freestyle, backstroke, butterfly and SM—medley). This is because the mechanics of the breaststroke require more power from the legs, so the classification evaluation of the athlete puts more “weight” on leg function. A swimmer’s sport class(es) may vary according to the event—so she might be an S6 for backstroke but an SB5 for breaststroke.
S/SM1–10
S/SM
1
S/SM
2
S/SM
3
S/SM
4
S/SM
5
S/SM
6
S/SM
7
S/SM
8
S/SM
9
S/SM
10
S/SM1
Impairment Severity Scale
UnaffectedMildModerateSevereNonfunctionalS/SM2
Impairment Severity Scale
UnaffectedMildModerateSevereNonfunctionalS/SM3
Impairment Severity Scale
UnaffectedMildModerateSevereNonfunctionalS/SM4
Impairment Severity Scale
UnaffectedMildModerateSevereNonfunctionalS/SM5
Impairment Severity Scale
UnaffectedMildModerateSevereNonfunctionalS/SM6
Impairment Severity Scale
UnaffectedMildModerateSevereNonfunctionalS/SM7
Impairment Severity Scale
UnaffectedMildModerateSevereNonfunctionalS/SM8
Impairment Severity Scale
UnaffectedMildModerateSevereNonfunctionalS/SM9
Impairment Severity Scale
UnaffectedMildModerateSevereNonfunctionalS/SM10
Impairment Severity Scale
UnaffectedMildModerateSevereNonfunctionalSB1–9
SB
1
SB
2
SB
3
SB
4
SB
5
SB
6
SB
7
SB
8
SB
9
SB1
Impairment Severity Scale
UnaffectedMildModerateSevereNonfunctionalSB2
Impairment Severity Scale
UnaffectedMildModerateSevereNonfunctionalSB3
Impairment Severity Scale
UnaffectedMildModerateSevereNonfunctionalSB4
Impairment Severity Scale
UnaffectedMildModerateSevereNonfunctionalSB5
Impairment Severity Scale
UnaffectedMildModerateSevereNonfunctionalSB6
Impairment Severity Scale
UnaffectedMildModerateSevereNonfunctionalSB7
Impairment Severity Scale
UnaffectedMildModerateSevereNonfunctionalSB8
Impairment Severity Scale
UnaffectedMildModerateSevereNonfunctionalSB9
Impairment Severity Scale
UnaffectedMildModerateSevereNonfunctionalSwimmers with visual impairments compete in S/SB/SM11–13. Each athlete is assigned a sport class based on his or her visual acuity and/or field of vision; those with poorest vision are assigned to S/SB/SM11, while S/SB/SM12 and S/SB/SM13 include athletes with more moderate and mild impairments. Read more about athletes with visual impairments in the Paralympic Games.
S/SB/SM11
S/SB/SM12
S/SB/SM13
S/SB/SM11
Impairment Severity Scale
UnaffectedMildModerateSevereNonfunctionalS/SB/SM12
Impairment Severity Scale
UnaffectedMildModerateSevereNonfunctionalS/SB/SM13
Impairment Severity Scale
UnaffectedMildModerateSevereNonfunctionalAthletes with activity limitations due to an intellectual impairment compete in S/SB/SM14. Read more about athletes with intellectual impairments in the Paralympic Games.
S/SB/SM14
S/SB/SM14
Impairment Severity Scale
UnaffectedMildModerateSevereNonfunctional