Aquatics

[Competition venue: Tokyo Aquatics Centre(Swimming,Diving,Artistic Swimming)・
Tatsumi Water Polo Centre(Water Polo)・
Odaiba Marine Park(Marathon Swimming)]

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  Overview
  Aquatics consists of five disciplines (swimming, diving, waterpolo, artistic swimming and marathon swimming)
  A total of 49 Aquatic events are scheduled to be held at the Tokyo 2020 Games.

  When competing, swimmers often approach the limits of human performance in terms of speed, endurance, skill and tactics.

  Aquatics includes competitive swimming, in which swimmers vie for the best times using only their body; diving and artistic swimming, which are judged on technical and artistic abilities; waterpolo, which is played with a ball, competing for scores; and marathon swimming, which takes place in open water.

  Key Points

  In competitive swimming, swimmers swim a distance in a predetermined swim style, competing for the best time. To achieve faster times, techniques for starts and turns are crucial.
  The diving competition consists of a series of complex twists and turns after jumping from a springboard or platform into the air and before entering the water. Judges take into account such factors as artistic performance and level of difficulty when deciding the number of points to award each competitor.
  Waterpolo is played in a pool. Players attack and defend by shooting and passing a ball and attempting to stop opponents from scoring. Tactics, physical strength and a range of skills are key to winning matches.
  In artistic swimming, teams of swimmers move their bodies in unison to music, and compete to achieve points for performance, synchronisation of swimmers and music, choreography and artistic presentation. Artistic swimming is a physically demanding sport, contrary to the elegance performance presented on the surface of the water.
  Marathon swimming requires not only fast swimming techniques, but also experience and knowledge of swimming in natural conditions since swimmers are affected by the weather, tides and various other factors, unlike swimming in a pool.

  History

  Swimming is a very popular sport that has been featured in every edition of the Olympics since the Athens 1896 Games. As well as Swimming, the only other sports to be included in all editions of the modern Olympic Games are Athletics, Gymnastics and Fencing. The butterfly stroke, which originated as a variation of the breaststroke, has been contested as a separate event since the Melbourne 1956 Olympic Games.
  Artistic swimming was introduced as an official Olympic sport at the Los Angeles 1984 Olympic Games. At the Atlanta 1996 Olympic Games, the team event (each team consisting of eight swimmers) was introduced. Today, the Olympic artistic swimming programme has two events: duet and team. It is a discipline only for women.
  Synchronised diving events were added to the Olympic diving programme at the Sydney 2000 Olympic Games. Artistic performance and synchronisation of the two divers are the key to gaining high scores.
  Waterpolo originated in Britain in the 1860s. Although it was originally a game to move a ball to a predetermined point, new rules were established in the 1870s since players used any means necessary and fought violently for the ball under the water. This is believed to be the origin of waterpolo. In the 1880s, waterpolo was established as a sport. This led to other countries playing the sport, and waterpolo was added to the Olympic programme at the Paris 1900 Games.

  Detail

  Event	Men	Women
  Diving	3m Springboard 10m Platform Synchronised 3m Springboard Synchronised 10m Platform	3m Springboard 10m Platform Synchronised 3m Springboard Synchronised 10m Platform
  Marathon Swimming	10km Marathon Swimming	10km Marathon Swimming
  Swimming	50m Freestyle 100m Freestyle 200m Freestyle 400m Freestyle 800m Freestyle 1500m Freestyle 100m Backstroke 200m Backstroke 100m Breaststroke 200m Breaststroke 100m Butterfly 200m Butterfly 200m Individual Medley 400m Individual Medley 4 x 100m Freestyle Relay 4 x 200m Freestyle Relay 4 x 100m Medley Relay	50m Freestyle 100m Freestyle 200m Freestyle 400m Freestyle 800m Freestyle 1500m Freestyle 100m Backstroke 200m Backstroke 100m Breaststroke 200m Breaststroke 100m Butterfly 200m Butterfly 200m Individual Medley 400m Individual Medley 4 x 100m Freestyle Relay 4 x 200m Freestyle Relay 4 x 100m Medley Relay
  	Mixed
  	4 x 100m Mixed Medley Relay
  Artistic Swimming		Duets Teams
  Water Polo	12-team tournament	10-team tournament

(Updated on April 10, 2019)