Medley swimming is a combination of four different swimming strokes (freestyle (front crawl), backstroke, breaststroke, butterfly) into one race. This race is either swum by one swimmer as individual medley (IM) or by four swimmers as a medley relay.
Individual medley consists of a single swimmer swimming equal distances of the four strokes within one race.
Individual medley consists of four strokes. These four strokes go in an order by Butterfly, Backstroke, Breaststroke and finally Freestyle. The swimmer will swim one quarter of the race in each style, in a certain order. The strokes are swum in this order: [1]
(4th can be any stroke except butterfly, backstroke, or breaststroke; [2] All swimmers use the front crawl).
A number of competitions in the individual medley are regularly contested, by both men and women. The competitions are limited in that every distance must consist of either four lengths of the pool (100-yard or -meter) or a multiple of four lengths (200- or 400-yard/- meter), so that no stroke must change mid-length. Regardless of the length of the individual medley, each stroke comprises a quarter of the overall distance.
The technique for individual medley events does not differ much from the technique for the separate events for the four strokes. The main difference is the turning technique needed when transitioning from one stroke to the next stroke. Each section has to be completed as described by the stroke rules of this section.
The transitions are as follows:
When transitioning from Butterfly to Backstroke, swimmers must abide by FINA rules and regulations in regards to turns. They are listed as follows:
For all the transitions, the swimmer may conduct their underwater phase for up to 15m, where then swimmers will have to resurface and continue swimming with proper technique. [4]
Medley relay consists of four different swimmers in one relay race, each swimming one of the four strokes.
Medley relay is swum by four different swimmers, each swimming one of the four strokes. The stroke order for medley relay is different from that of the individual medley. Backstroke is the first event as this stroke is started from the water. If backstroke were not the first event, the starting backstroke swimmer and the finishing previous swimmer could block each other. The remaining strokes are sorted according to the speed, with breaststroke being the slowest, butterfly in the middle, and freestyle being the fastest stroke. The order of the strokes for medley relay is as follows: [5]
Backstroke performances (only) are eligible for backstroke records, as they are performed under normal controlled starting conditions (i.e., reflex latency for the starting gun makes the average split time marginally quicker); for example, Ryan Murphy set the world record for the 100 m backstroke during the first leg of the 4 × 100 m medley relay at the 2016 Summer Olympics.
There are a number of competitions swum regularly in medley relay, both by men and women.
Mixed-gendered medley relays were introduced at the 2014 FINA World Swimming Championships (25 m) (4×50 m) and 2015 World Aquatics Championships (4 × 100 m). The event debuted at the 2010 Summer Youth Olympics and 2020 Summer Olympics (4 × 100 m).
Standard United States high school swim meets have short course events, that is the lengths are typically swum in a 25-yard or meter long pool. One relay event swum in State or Sectional Championships is the 4×50 yard medley relay.
Many collegiate programs hold competition in the 4×50 medley relay, and 4×100 medley relay.
The technique for medley relay events does not differ much from the technique for the separate events for the four strokes and the basic set of relay rules. The only difference between the Medley Relay and the Individual Medley is the order of the strokes and the number of swimmers. The order for the medley relay is: backstroke, breaststroke, butterfly, and freestyle.
The main difference is for the second, third, and fourth swimmers on the relay team. The first swimmer swims backstroke normally, but all of the following swimmers must accurately judge the swimmer current swimming's distance, and conduct a relay dive right as the current swimmer touches the wall. There is no start signal for those swimmers. It is very important for the next swimmer off the block to accurately judge the time at which the swimmer in the water will touch the wall. A fast reaction could result in a significantly faster time in the race, but a false start (diving early) will result in a disqualification.
World Aquatics rules require that a foot of the second, third or fourth swimmer must be touching the platform while (and before) the incoming teammate is touching the wall; [7] the starting swimmer may already be in motion, however, which saves 0.6 – 1 second compared to a regular start. Furthermore, many swimmers may perform better in a relay than in an individual race owing to a team spirit atmosphere. As a result, relay times are typically 2–3 second faster than the sum of best times of individual swimmers.
Until 1952, the butterfly was not defined as a separate stroke from the breaststroke, and so medley races featured three styles: backstroke, breaststroke, and freestyle. The usual distance of both the IM and the medley relay was thus 300 metres or yards rather than 400. During a 150-meter Individual Medley race, Henry Myers was one of the first to use an overarm recovery while swimming breaststroke, becoming one of the earliest forms of butterfly. [8] In the United States, during the year of 1953, some medley races included the butterfly stroke, and the Amateur Athletic Union made it mandatory in 1954. [9] [10]
From the beginning of the medley events, swimming times have drastically decreased due to science, technology, and improved training; e.g. technical swimming suits that reduce drag in the water and underwater cameras that help to analyze a swimmer's stroke.
These are the official rules of World Aquatics, USA Swimming, and US Masters Swimming regarding medley swimming:
Freestyle includes a special regulation for medley events:
Additionally, the normal rules of relay events apply:
Failure to abide by any of the rules listed above will result in a disqualification if found appropriate by the referee.
In 1960, the U.S. Paralympics added swimming as a sport. Para-Swimming is where swimmers with physical disabilities can compete with other swimmers with physical disabilities in swimming. While swimming, those swimmers are not allowed to wear any prosthetics or any assistive devices. [13]
While swimming the Individual Medley, para-swimmers are put into different categories depending on their physical disability. They are listed below:
There are also visual ratings:
And finally, there is an intellectual category:
All the listed below world record times have been swam in Long Course Meters (LCM.)
Men [28]
| World records | 200 m individual medley |  Ryan Lochte (USA) | 1:54.00 | Shanghai, China | July 28, 2011 |
| 400 m individual medley |  Léon Marchand (FRA) | 4:02.50 | Fukuoka, Japan | July 23, 2023 | |
| 4×100 m medley relay | United States | 3:26.78 | Tokyo, Japan | July 31, 2021 | |
Women [29]
| World records | 200 m individual medley |  Katinka Hosszú (HUN) | 2:06.12 | Kazan, Russia | August 3, 2015 |
| 400 m individual medley |  Summer McIntosh (CAN) | 4:25.87 | Toronto, Canada | April 1, 2023 | |
| 4×100 m medley relay | United States | 3:50.40 | Gwangju, South Korea | July 28, 2019 | |
Mixed [30]
| World records | 4×100 m mixed medley relay | United States | 3:37.43 | Paris, France | August 3, 2024 |
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Breaststroke is a swimming style in which the swimmer is on their chest and the torso does not rotate. It is the most popular recreational style due to the swimmer's head being out of the water a large portion of the time, and that it can be swum comfortably at slow speeds. In most swimming classes, beginners learn either the breaststroke or the freestyle first. However, at the competitive level, swimming breaststroke at speed requires endurance and strength comparable to other strokes. Some people refer to breaststroke as the "frog" stroke, as the arms and legs move somewhat like a frog swimming in the water. The stroke itself is the slowest of any competitive strokes and is thought to be the oldest of all swimming strokes.
Backstroke or back crawl is one of the four swimming styles used in competitive events regulated by FINA, and the only one of these styles swum on the back. This swimming style has the advantage of easy breathing, but the disadvantage of swimmers not being able to see where they are going. It also has a different start from the other three competition swimming styles. The swimming style is similar to an upside down front crawl or freestyle. Both backstroke and front crawl are long-axis strokes. In individual medley backstroke is the second style swum; in the medley relay it is the first style swum.
Malin Therese Alshammar is a Swedish swimmer who has won three Olympic medals, 25 World Championship medals, and 43 European Championship medals. She is a specialist in short distances races in freestyle and butterfly. She is coached by former Swedish swimmer Johan Wallberg. She is the first female swimmer and the third overall to participate in six Olympic Games.
The World Aquatics Junior Swimming Championships is an international swimming championship event organized biennially by World Aquatics for swimmers aged 14–18 years as of the 31st December of the year of the competition. It is usually held on odd years. Prior to 2023, the event was known as the FINA World Junior Swimming Championships and was open to female swimmers aged 14–17 and male swimmers aged 15–18 as of the 31st of December of the year of the competition.
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Swimming is an individual or team racing sport that requires the use of one's entire body to move through water. The sport takes place in pools or open water. Competitive swimming is one of the most popular Olympic sports, with varied distance events in butterfly, backstroke, breaststroke, freestyle, and individual medley. In addition to these individual events, four swimmers can take part in either a freestyle or medley relay. A medley relay consists of four swimmers who will each swim a different stroke, ordered as backstroke, breaststroke, butterfly and freestyle.
Freestyle is a category of swimming competition, defined by the rules of World Aquatics, in which competitors are subject to only a few limited restrictions on their swimming stroke. Freestyle races are the most common of all swimming competitions, with distances beginning with 50 meters and reaching 1,500 meters, also known as the mile. The term 'freestyle stroke' is sometimes used as a synonym for 'front crawl', as front crawl is the fastest surface swimming stroke. It is now the most common stroke used in freestyle competitions.
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Michael Charles Andrew is an American competitive swimmer and an Olympic gold medalist. He was the 2016 world champion in the 100 meter individual medley. At his first Olympic Games, the 2020 Summer Olympics, he won a gold medal and set a world record as part of the 4x100 meter medley relay, placed fourth in the 100 meter breaststroke, fourth in the 50 meter freestyle, and fifth in the 200 meter individual medley. Andrew's swims in 2021 at the 2020 Olympics made him the first swimmer to represent the United States at an Olympic Games in an individual breaststroke event as well as another individual event other than an individual medley in the then-125-year-history of swimming at the Summer Olympics. He has won 78 medals at Swimming World Cup circuits.
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Anastasia "Nastiya" Gorbenko is an Israeli competitive swimmer. She competes in the backstroke, breaststroke, freestyle, and medley. She has won 8 World and European championships gold medals, competed at 2 Olympic finals, broken most of the Israeli national records for women and mixed relays, and is considered to be Israel's greatest swimmer of all time. In February 2024, Gorbenko won a silver medal at the Doha World Championships in the women's 400 meters individual medley. Gorbenko represented Israel at the 2024 Summer Olympics in swimming in the 100m backstroke, 200m backstroke, 100m breaststroke, 200m individual medley, 400m individual medley, 4x200m freestyle relay, and mixed 4x100m medley relay.
Rebecca Meder is a South African swimmer. She is the African record holder in the 100 metre individual medley and the South African record holder in the long course and short course 200 metre individual medley. At the 2022 World Short Course Championships, she placed sixth in the final of the 100 metre individual medley. In the 200 metre individual medley at the 2022 Commonwealth Games, she placed fourth in the final. At the 2021 African Championships, she won 11 gold medals, six in individual events and five in relay events, swimming on the finals relay for each of the five relay events.
Claire Curzan is an American competitive swimmer and Olympian. Specialising in multiple events, she earned an Olympic silver medal in the 4×100 meter medley relay in the 2020 Summer Olympics by swimming the preliminary butterfly leg. She holds junior world records in the long course 50 meter freestyle and 100 meter butterfly and the short course 50 meter butterfly and 100 meter butterfly. She also holds American records in the short course 50 meter backstroke and 50 meter butterfly, and formerly held the American record in the 100 yard butterfly. She currently swims for the Virginia Cavaliers.
