Front crawl

Unlike the backstroke, the breaststroke, and the butterfly stroke, the front crawl is not regulated by the FINA.

The face-down swimming position allows for a good range of motion of the arm in the water, as compared to the backstroke, where the hands cannot be moved easily along the back of the spine.

Finally, the alternating arm stroke makes for a relatively constant speed throughout the cycle.

English swimmer Harold Kenworthy, who was fresh, then used the breaststroke to take on the two tired Ojibwe in a third race and won easily.

[5] This style was further improved by the Australian champion swimmer Richmond "Dick" Cavill (the son of swimming instructor Professor Richard "Frederick" Cavill) and by Alick Wickham, a young Solomon Islander living in Sydney who swam a version of the crawl stroke that was popular in his home island at Roviana lagoon.

The front crawl is a very technical stroke that varies based on the swimmers physique, conditioning, and context.

Possible context factors include: competition type, water conditions, and the swimmer's goal.

The swimmer starts on the stomach with both arms stretched out to the front and both legs extended to the back.

Whether this is related to a blockage effect of the boundary layer (unlikely due to small thickness) or to vortical structures emerging between the fingers or in the wake of the hand is unclear and should be studied more closely."

Note: more recent technical guidance discourages this S-curve pattern and assert that a straight 'push' path at shoulder width is optimal.

The beginning of the recovery looks similar to pulling the hand out of the back pocket of a pair of pants, with the small finger upwards.

In the middle of the recovery one shoulder is rotated forward into the air while the other is pointing backwards to avoid drag due to the large frontal area which at this specific time is not covered by the arm.

Beginners often make the mistake of not relaxing the arm during the recovery and of moving the hand too high and too far away from the body, in some cases even higher than the elbow.

After turning the head, a breath can be taken in this trough without the need to move the mouth above the average water surface.

The head is rotated back at the end of the recovery and points down and forward again when the recovered hand enters the water.

Swimmers with allergies exacerbated by time in the pool should not expect exhaling through the nose to completely prevent intranasal irritation.

Side-to-side movement is kept to a minimum: one of the main functions of the leg kick is to maintain the line of the body.

Since during the finish all swimmers start to accelerate, a good reaction time is needed in order to join the sprint quickly.

Catch up requires more strength for swimming because the hand is beginning the pull from a stationary position rather than a dynamic one.

This style is slower than the regular front crawl and is rarely used competitively; however, it is often used for training purposes by swimmers, as it increases the body's awareness of being streamlined in the water.

Another training variation involves swimming with clenched fists, which forces swimmers to use more forearm strength to propel themselves forward.

This drill supports rotation and breathing, single arm training, and streamlining in front crawl.