Breast Stroke Overview

• The breaststroke is unique in that it is the only

one of the four competitive swim strokes
where the recovery takes place underwater.
As a result of this, it creates more drag than
any of the other strokes and is the slowest of
them.
 Breast Stroke History
• Breaststroke was already popular in the Stone Age
• The first depictions of breaststroke can be found as
cave paintings in southwestern Egypt:
• The “Cave of the Swimmers” was discovered in
1933 on the Gilf-el-Kebir Plateau and contains
numerous drawings of people swimming
breaststroke. These paintings are believed to have
been made about 10,000 to 5,500 years ago
 Breast Stroke History
• Breaststroke was included in the Olympics for
the first time in 1904, race was held over a
distance of 440 yards.
Steps on doing Breast Stroke
• Glide: Start with your arms fully extended in
front of your body with your palms pointing
down and fingertips pointing forward (the
sides of your thumbs should be touching).
• Outsweep: Turn your palms slightly outward
(so your thumbs point slightly downward) and,
keeping your arms straight, sweep your arms
out to your sides until they form a “Y” shape
with your body
• Insweep: Bend your elbows and move your
forearms down and back as you pull your
hands together in front of your chest in a
praying position. This is the all-important
phase of the breaststroke pull, as it serves as
the power that pulls your body forward. This is
also the phase where you lift your head out of
the water to take a breath
• Recovery: Extend your arms forward just below
the surface to enter the glide phase, and begin
the cycle again.
 Kicking Technique For Breaststroke

• Start with your legs straight and together.

• Bend your knees so they point out to the sides
while keeping your feet together. Your feet should
come in toward your torso.
• Keeping your knees where they are, separate your
feet to extend your legs straight out to a diagonal,
in a “V” shape, and then quickly squeeze your legs
together to come back to the starting position.
This step should be fast and fluid.