Medley swimming
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Medley is a combination of four different swimming styles 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
Individual medley consists of a single swimmer swimming equal distances of four different strokes within one race.
Stroke Order
Individual Medley consists of four strokes. Usually each stroke has an equal part of the overall distance, i.e. 1/4th of the overall distance is swum in one stroke. The strokes are swum in this order:
- Butterfly
- Backstroke
- Breaststroke
- Freestyle, with the limitation that freestyle means any style other than backstroke, breaststroke or butterfly. Most swimmers use front crawl.
Competitions
There are a number of competitions swum regularly in individual medley, by both men and women. The competitions are limited in that every distance must consist of at least 4 lengths (100 yd. or m.) or a multiple of 4 lengths (200 or 400 yd. or m.), 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.
- 100 m/yd individual Medley: Swum in short course (25 m/yd pool) competition only. This is not an Olympic event.
- 200 m/yd individual Medley: Swum in both short course and long course (50 m pool) competitions. This was an Olympic event once in the 1968 Summer Olympics, Mexico City, Mexico. After that, the event was not swum in Olympic games until the 1984 Summer Olympics, Los Angeles, United States. The event has been swum ever since.
- 400 m individual Medley: Swum in both short course and long course competitions. This has been an Olympic event since the 1964 Summer Olympics, Tokyo, Japan
Technique
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 at the transition from one stroke to the next stroke. Each section has to be completed as described by the stroke rules of this section.
The butterfly section has to be ended with both hands touching the wall at the same time, but has to leave the wall on the back for backstroke. Most swimmers do this by pulling the knees underneath of their body after touching the wall with both hands, and then rolling backwards on their back. During the roll the arms are not stretched, but rather hold close to the body with the hands a few centimeters in front of the chest. This reduces the rotational moment and allows for a faster turn. At the end of the backwards roll the swimmer sinks under water and extends over the head. The swimmer then pushes off the wall with both legs and starts the regular underwater phase of backstroke, usually a dolphin kick for up to 15 m before surfacing and swimming normal backstroke.
The backstroke section has to end with touching the wall while lying on the back. For the subsequent breaststroke the swimmer has to leave the wall on the breast. Most swimmers prefer to do an open turn, simply driving the feet into the wall. The swimmer is then under water face down and extends the hands forward before pushing off the wall with both legs. The swimmer continues with the regular breaststroke, consisting of a gliding phase, an underwater pull-down, and another gliding phase before surfacing and swimming normal breaststroke. A newer, but not required technique for the backstroke to breaststroke turn is a backflip. The swimmer touches on his or her backside with one hand. After touching the wall, the swimmer tucks their knees up to their stomach and flips around so that their feet are touching the wall pointing down and they can push off of the wall on their stomach.
The breaststroke section has to be ended with both hands touching the wall at the same time while on the breast. A normal breaststroke turn is usually used to turn and push off the wall. After leaving the wall the freestyle underwater phase is initiated, followed by regular freestyle on the surface after up to 15 m underwater. For medley events, freestyle means any style other than backstroke, breaststroke or butterfly. Some form of front crawl is typically used.
Medley Relay
Medley relay consists of four different swimmers in one relay competition, each swimming one stroke.
Stroke Order
Medley relay is swum by four different swimmers, each swimmer swimming one of the four strokes. Backstroke is the first event as backstroke 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 and freestyle being the fastest stroke. The order of the strokes is as follows:
- Backstroke
- Breaststroke
- Butterfly
- Freestyle, with the limitation that freestyle means any style other than backstroke, breaststroke or butterfly.
Competitions
There are a number of competitions swum regularly in medley relay, both by men and women.
- 4×50 Medley Relay: Swum on the short 25 m lane only. This is not an Olympic competition
- 4×100 Medley Relay: Swum on both the short 25 m lane and the long 50 m lane. This was the first Olympic medley competition and is swum since the 1960 Summer Olympics, Rome, Italy. The first Olympic butterfly event itself was first swum in the previous 1956 Summer Olympics.
Standard United States High School Swim Meets have short course events, that is the lengths are typically swum in yards. The only relay event swum in State or Sectional Championships is the 4 x 50 yard Medley Relay.
Many collegiate programs hold competition in the 4x50 Medley Relay, 4x100 Medley Relay, and 4x200 Medley Relay.
Technique
The technique for medley relay events does not differ much from the technique for the separate events for the four strokes. The first swimmer swims the 50 or 100 m backstroke normally. The only difference for the following swimmers is that there is no start signal, but rather the previous swimmer completing its turn by touching the wall signals the start for the subsequent swimmer. 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 slow reaction could result in a significant time gain in the race, but a false start (diving early) will result in a disqualification. Relay exchanges often win or lose a race for a team.
Rules
These are the official rules of the FINA regarding Medley swimming:
- In individual medley events, the swimmer covers the four swimming styles in the following order: Butterfly, Backstroke, Breaststroke and Freestyle.
- In medley relay events, swimmers will cover the four swimming styles in the following order: Backstroke, Breaststroke, Butterfly and Freestyle.
- Each section must be finished in accordance with the rule which applies to the style concerned.
Freestyle includes a special regulation for medley events:
- Freestyle means that in an event so designated the swimmer may swim any style, except that in individual medley or medley relay events, freestyle means any style other than backstroke, breaststroke or butterfly.
Additionally, the normal rules of relay events apply:
- In relay events, the team of a swimmer whose feet lose touch with the starting platform before the preceding team-mate touches the wall shall be disqualified, unless the swimmer in default returns to the original starting point at the wall, but it shall not be necessary to return to the starting platform.
- Any relay team shall be disqualified from a race if a team member, other than the swimmer designated to swim that length, enters the water when the race is being conducted, before all swimmers of all teams have finished the race.
- The members of a relay team and their order of competing must be nominated before the race. Any relay team member may compete in a race only once. The composition of a relay team may be changed between the heats and finals of an event, provided that it is made up from the list of swimmers properly entered by a member for that event. Failure to swim in the order listed will result in disqualification. Substitutions may be made only in the case of a documented medical emergency.
- Any swimmer having finished his race, or his distance in a relay event, must leave the pool as soon as possible without obstructing any other swimmer who has not yet finished his race. Otherwise the swimmer committing the fault, or his relay team, shall be disqualified.
- There shall be four swimmers on each relay team.
World Records
Men
| World Records | 200m individual medley |  Michael Phelps (USA) |
1:54.23 | Beijing, China | August 15 2008 |
| 400m individual medley | Michael Phelps (USA) |
4:03.84 | Beijing, China | August 10 2008 |
Women
| World Records | 200m individual medley |  Stephanie Rice (AUS) |
2:08.45 | Beijing, China | August 13 2008 |
| 400m individual medley | Stephanie Rice (AUS) |
4:29.45 | Beijing, China | August 10 2008 |
Notable medley swimmers
| This section needs additional citations for verification. (June 2008) |
See also
External links
- Swim.ee: Detailed discussion of swimming techniques and speeds