Backstroke

The hand enters downward (pinkie finger first) then pulling out at a 45-degree angle, catching the water.

During the power phase the hand follows a semi-circular path from the catch to the side of the hip.

The palm is always facing away from the swimming direction, while remaining straight as an extension of the arm, and the elbow always points downward towards the bottom of the pool.

At the height of the shoulders, the upper and lower arms should have their maximum angle of about 90 degrees.

The Mid-Pull phase consists of pushing the palm of the hand as far down as possible with the fingers pointing upward.

At the very end of the Mid-Pull, the palm flaps down for a last push forward down to a depth of 45 cm, creating the finish of the power phase.

A variant is to move both arms synchronized and not alternating, similar to an upside down breast stroke.

Another variant is the old style of swimming backstroke, where the arm movement formed a complete circle in a windmill type pattern.

However, this style is not commonly used for competitive swimming, as a lot of energy is spent on pushing the body up and down instead of forward.

The kick makes a large contribution to the forward speed, while significantly stabilizing the body.

From this position, the leg makes a fast kick upward, slightly bending the knee at the beginning and then stretching it again in the horizontal.

Due to the asynchronous movement of the arms, the body tends to roll around its long axis.

By taking advantage of this rolling motion, swimmers can increase their effectiveness while swimming backstroke.

To avoid this, the upper legs have to be moved to the extreme down position at each kick even with a little help by the back and the foot tips have to be fixed in the extreme lower position and the head is held out of the water to act as a counter-weight.

For the takeoff, the swimmer pushes their hands away from the block and swings their arms around sideways to the front.

On September 21, 2005, FINA modified the backstroke start rule regarding toes below the water line.

Therefore, most experienced swimmers in backstroke competitions stay under water up to the limit set by FINA (15 meters after the start and after every turn).

The swimmer continues in regular swimming style, staying on the back for the entire time except the turns.

Next, the swimmer makes half a tumble turn forward, resting the feet against the wall.

For the finish, the swimmer must touch the wall while lying on their back, less than 90 degrees out of the horizontal, and must not be completely submerged.