About
Swimming has been an Olympic sport since the first modern Games in 1896 and is the most decorated event in the Summer Olympics. Michael Phelps, with 23 Olympic gold medals and 28 total, is the most decorated Olympian in history. His performance at the 2008 Beijing Olympics — eight gold medals in eight events — is widely considered the greatest individual performance in Olympic history.
Competitive swimming covers freestyle, backstroke, breaststroke, butterfly, and individual medley across distances from 50m to 1500m. Technology has dramatically changed the sport — high-tech polyurethane suits introduced in 2008 were banned after shattering nearly every world record.
# Top 10 Swimming Olympics facts
- 1Michael Phelps has won more Olympic medals (28) than some entire countries
- 2In 2008, Phelps won 8 gold medals in 8 events at Beijing — the greatest single Olympics performance in history
- 3High-tech polyurethane swimsuits introduced in 2008 broke 43 world records before being banned
Fascinating Facts
- ◆Michael Phelps has won more Olympic medals (28) than some entire countries
- ◆In 2008, Phelps won 8 gold medals in 8 events at Beijing — the greatest single Olympics performance in history
- ◆High-tech polyurethane swimsuits introduced in 2008 broke 43 world records before being banned
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