I and III collegiate levels. It becomes a sport when an athlete masters the art and pits her mastery against an opponent. Consequently, it is vital that swimmers first learn to swim the strokes efficiently and effectively before they begin swimming them hard. It is astonishing how much time can be shaved off simply by makng a technical adjustment in a swimmer's stroke. Once a swimmer is able to swim the strokes with precision, they move into a new phase of swimming where the focus changes to high intensity sets and building endurance while maintaining stroke efficiency.
Some swimmers are artists, some are athletes, but the greatest swimmers are a combination of both.
Y S 400 Yds.