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Trivia, Odd Facts, and Interesting Tidbits of Information About Swimming

By Mat Luebbers, About.com Guide

  • The Olympic flag has a plain white background with no border. In the center are five rings forming two rows of three rings above and two below. The rings of the upper row are, from left to right, blue, black and red. The rings of the lower row are yellow and green. (Indianinfo)

  • The average human produces 25,000 quarts of spit in a lifetime, enough to fill two swimming pools. (Dishout)

  • In the 1984 Olympics, there were no women's World Records set. (USA Swimming)

  • What were the first goggles made of? Divers in the 1300’s made goggles from polished, clear tortoise shell. The first rubber goggles, which had heavy glass lenses, were invented in the 1930’s. (Quaker Instant Oatmeal)

  • On average, sardines live to be 14 years old. (Animal Trivia).

  • At the 1972 Olympic Games, Steve Genter suffered a collapsed lung only days before his event. Swimming without the consent of his doctors he went on to finish with a silver in the 200-meter freestyle and a bronze in the 400-meter freestyle. (USA Swimming)

  • Leigh Ann Fetter was the first woman to break 22 seconds in the 50-yard freestyle with a 21.92 at the 1990 NCAA Championships. (USA Swimming)

  • At the 1983 Pan American Games in Caracas, Venezuela, the U.S. men's 400 meter medley relay consisted of all four 100-meter stroke world record holders, the only time this has happened in swimming history. (Rick Carey, Steve Lundquist, Matt Gribble, Rowdy Gaines) (USA Swimming)

  • American high-diver Greg Louganis hit his head on the board in mid-dive during the qualifying round, in the 1988 Seoul Olympics. The gash on his head required stitches, but a mere 10 minutes later, he was back to complete his dives. Two days later, Louganis went on to win the gold medal in the springboard and platform diving events. (Indianinfo)

  • Buster Crabbe, gold and bronze medallist in the 1932 Olympics, went on after his swimming career to appear in 175 movies. He signed with Paramount for his first film "King of The Jungle" in hopes of becoming a rival to Johnny Weissmuller in the movie industry. Weissmuller was a swimming Olympian who starred in 12 Tarzan pictures. (USA Swimming)

  • The first recorded swimming competition in the United States took place in 1883 with the New York Athletic Club, who held annual competitions through 1887 when the Amateur Athletic Union began sponsoring the events. (USA Swimming)

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