Swimming and Diving

The 1984 swimming schedule is the most wide ranging in history, with more than 900 competitors expected.

Men and women will compete in 15 events, including 100-meter free style, 200-meter free style, 400-meter free style, 1500-meter free style, 100-meter backstroke, 200-meter backstroke, 100-meter breast stroke, 200-meter breast stroke, 100-meter butterfly, 200-meter butterfly, 200-meter individual medley, 400-meter individual medley and 800-meter free style (women only). Men's-team relay events include the 4 × 100-meter medley relay, the 4 × 100-meter free-style relay, the 4 × 200-meter free-style relay and the 4 × 100-meter relay. Women's-team relay events include the 4 × 100-meter medley relay, the 4 × 100-meter free-style relay and synchronized swimming.

The first Olympic swimming contests were held outdoors in 55-degree water, but not to worry: The 1984 competition will take place in a $7,000,000 pool complex with the water heated to 77 degrees. The pool itself is some six feet deep, measuring 55 yards long and 25 yards wide. There are eight swimming lanes--each eight feet, two inches wide--divided by ropes with floats. Competitors start from a raised 29-1/2-inch platform of nonskid material.

Swimmers receive lane assignments for trial heats according to their fastest pre-Olympic competitive times. Center lanes are reserved for the fastest times, with the next fastest assigned to lanes to the left and right of the center.

As in track and field, the real strategy in swimming comes in the longer events. While the shorter sprints are considered tests of strength as swimmers make their rush to the finish, the 800- and 1500-meter races require pacing and strategy. Most important to swimmers is the racing dive--a long, on-the-stomach, full-powered push off the starting platform.

There are four major swimming styles: the free style (the all-purpose crawl), the backstroke, the breast stroke and the butterfly (swimmers use scissorlike leg movements with arms pulling and lifting over the surface). In individual medley events, swimmers use all four strokes to compete an equal distance; in team medley swimming, each individual in the four-person team employs, in order, the backstroke, the breast stroke, the butterfly and the free style.

Spectators need a score card just to keep track of the officials. In addition to the head referee, there are a chief timekeeper, lane timekeepers, a starter, stroke judges, turning judges, finish judges, a recorder and a clerk. Most important are the stroke judges, who enforce the rules regarding each style of swimming, and the turning judges, who make sure that turns are executed within the rules (in addition to informing competitors, via lap cards, of the number of remaining laps).

Any swimmer causing a third false start (even if he had nothing to do with the first two) is immediately disqualified. Electronic timing keeps track of each swimmer via a (concluded on page 193)Swimming(continued from page 173) direct hookup with the starter's gun and the contact pads located against the wall at the pool's end.

The most artistic of the new '84 events promises to be the women's synchronized swimming. Swimmers will compete in duets (one duet per nation) in both compulsory (without music) and innovative routines, to be judged by a panel of experts on a zero-to-ten-point sliding scale. Many routines are performed upside down underwater and include such aquatic maneuvers as the swordfish, the porpoise, the herto and the albatross.

Historical footnote: After being hailed as an innovative breakthrough in the early Sixties, the somersault maneuver (in which swimmers twist around entirely after pushing off the pool wall) was banned in the '64 games but reinstated for the '68 games.

Armchair tip: Symmetry is everything in swimming events. Watch for swimmers who are able to keep their shoulders in line with the surface of the water while moving their arms and legs simultaneously.

Diving

1980 Olympic Champions

Men's springboard: Aleksandr Portnov (U.S.S.R.)

Women's springboard: Irina Kalinina (U.S.S.R.)

Men's platform: Falk Hoffmann (East Germany)

Women's platform: Martina Jaschke (East Germany)

With athletes hurling themselves downward at speeds of up to 50 mph (and with disaster only inches away), diving may be the most dangerous Olympic event.

In springboard diving, competitors spring off a plank 16 feet long and 20 inches wide. In platform diving, participants push off from a solid construction some 19 feet long, six feet wide and more than 30 feet above the water.

There are two categories of required dives: voluntary dives with degree-of-difficulty limits and voluntary dives without degree-of-difficulty limits.

With limits: In springboard, each competitor must complete a forward, a backward, a reverse, an inward and a twisting dive--with the degree of difficulty for each dive adding up to not more than 9.6. Platform competitors choose four dives (from the six available styles) with a degree of difficulty not exceeding 7.6.

Without limits: In springboard, men make six dives; women, five. From the platform, men perform six dives; women, four.

There are five major dives: forward (body faces water, dive forward), reverse (body faces forward, rotates back to the board before dive), inward (body rotates inward with back to the water), twisting (body twists in the air), handstand (diver starts from a handstand--platform only).

After seven judges register their scores (from zero for a failed dive to ten for perfection), the high and low scores are discounted and the remaining scores are multiplied by a coefficient determined by the degree of difficulty of the attempted dive. According to the Olympic table, difficulty of dives ranges from a high of 3.5 to a low of 1.2. Look for high scores from divers who successfully execute such daredevil maneuvers as a forward one-and-a-half somersault with three twists, a back one-and-a-half somersault with a two-and-a-half or a three-and-a-half twist or a reverse twister with a back two-and-a-half or three-and-a-half twist.

There are four steps to every successful dive: the start (diver is fully erect), the sprint (diver takes off, gathering maximum spring), the flight (diver cleanly executes point-gathering maneuver) and the entry (diver enters the water cleanly).

Historical footnote: Once a sure thing, the U.S.A.'s string of 11 straight springboard victories was broken in the 1972 Munich games by Soviet Vladimir Vasin.

Armchair tip: Diving rule of thumb: The less splash upon entering the water, the better the dive. (continued overleaf)

Additional events archery

Men shoot two rounds of 36 arrows at each of four distances: 90, 70, 50 and 30 meters. Women shoot a single round of 36 arrows at 70, 60, 50 and 30 meters. Key to success: a combination of arm strength and steadiness of hand.

Canoeing (Men Only) and Kayaking

Canoeists propel their open boats by paddling single-bladed paddles on each side. In kayak events, competitors propel themselves from an enclosed boat with a double-bladed paddle. Key to success in both: coordination and clean strokes.

Cycling

There are two types of events: road racing and track racing. The three road races are the 62-mile team time trial, the 108.7-mile individual road race and the women's 43.49-mile race. The five track races are the 1093.6-yard match sprint, the 1093.6-yard individual time trial, the 4374.4-yard individual pursuit, the 4374.4-yard team pursuit and the 31-mile point race. Key to success: "drafting" until the moment to pass is right.

Equestrian events

Riders and their horses team up to combine strength and courage in a multiple-event program that includes jumping six-foot fences and water hazards. Often misperceived as gentrified sports, the equestrian events are some of the most dangerous. Key to success: smoothness in transition between movements.

Fencing

Men use the foil, épée and saber in separate events; women compete only with the foil. Tournaments are run on a round-robin basis and matches are won by the first fencer to score five touches. Key to success: dexterity and aggressiveness.

Field Hockey

Field hockey is played with 11 competitors on a side and is divided into two 35-minute halves. On a field measuring 60 × 100 yards, competitors use three-foot sticks to advance a small ball up the field and into the goal. Key to success: As in ice hockey, the team that is able to maintain possession is likely to control the match.

Football (Soccer--Men Only)

Olympic soccer is played with 11 men on a side in two 45-minute halves. Players must move the ball up the field with their head, feet, chest and other body parts--only the goalie may use his hands. But you knew all that, right? Key to success: a tough playmaking goalie.

Team Handball

In handball, considered by some a cross between soccer and basketball, team members move a near-soccer-sized ball down an indoor court and throw it past a goalkeeper in order to score. Players are allowed to hold the ball for only three seconds at a time. The game is played by six court players and one goalkeeper in two 30-minute (women, 25-minute) halves. Key to success: As in basketball, teams that are quick and in sync are likely to dominate.

Judo (Men Only)

A competitor wins a match by holding an opponent immobile on his back for 30 seconds. Scoring is complex. Key to success: long hours and commitment to the judo lifestyle.

Modern Pentathlon (Team and Individual)

In this event, a man sets out on a horse. His first encounter comes when he's forced off his horse to fight a duel with swords. After he escapes, he is trapped again and forced to shoot his way out with a pistol. After that, he swims 300 meters and runs two and a half miles. Sounds like a video game. Key to success: incredible athletic prowess and a penchant for the highly unorthodox.

Rowing

Competition is in eight categories: single sculls, double sculls, quadruple sculls with coxswain (women only), pair-oared shell without coxswain, pair-oared shell with coxswain, four-oared shell with coxswain, four-oared shell without coxswain and eight-oared shell with coxswain. Key to success: clean, precise movements. The smaller the splash, the better the effort.

Shooting

Eighty countries will send more than 1100 shooters to compete in ten events ranging from pistol shooting to rifle shooting to game-target shooting. For the first time in Olympic history, there will be a women's shooting division. Key to success varies with event, but intense concentration means a steady hand.

Water Polo

Seven-member teams try to put a 28-inch ball in their opponent's goal while competing in a 33-by-22-yard pool. Only the goalie may handle the ball with both hands. Key to success: The best teams feature players who can specialize while playing a team-style game.

Volleyball

Matches consist of the best three out of five sets. A team wins a set with a score of 15 points, but the winning margin has to be two points or more. Six players on each team hit the ball over the 3'3' net in an attempt to keep it alive. Key to success rides with the team's setter, the equivalent of basketball's playmaking guard.

Yachting

Each of seven yachting classes is required to run seven races over roughly a 12-mile course. Lowest point total wins. (Boardsailing will make its debut as an Olympic demonstration and medal event in L.A.) Key to success: physical stamina and an ability to read weather conditions.

Baseball (Demonstration)

Festivities begin with a round-robin tournament from which six countries will emerge to play in the finals. Key to success: knowing how the other team thinks in crucial situations.

Tennis (Demonstration)

This will be an open competition--professionals will be allowed to compete. But there's a catch: Participants must be 20 years old or younger. Key to success: As in baseball, a competitor who knows his opponent's game will have an advantage.