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Butterfly stroke

Explorer · ages 7 and underAdapted from Wikipedia
A woman demonstrates the butterfly stroke swimming technique, showing the arm position just before entering the water.

Butterfly stroke is a fun and fast way to swim! Swimmers use both arms together and move their legs up and down like a fish. This is called the dolphin kick. It looks smooth and strong.

People started using butterfly stroke in the 1950s. It came from another swimming style called breaststroke. Today, it is one of the quickest ways to swim in races, just a little slower than front crawl.

Butterfly stroke needs strong muscles and good breathing. Swimmers practice by mixing short, fast swims with longer, steady ones. It is exciting to watch in big competitions!

When swimmers start a race, they dive in and glide underwater with dolphin kicks before coming up for air. They must touch the wall with both hands at the same time when turning or finishing. This makes the race fair and fun for everyone.

Pictures

Animation demonstrating the butterfly swimming stroke technique.
An animation showing the butterfly stroke swimming technique, a popular style used in competitive swimming.

Keep exploring

Breaststroke
Front crawl

This article is a child-friendly adaptation of the Wikipedia article on Butterfly stroke, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.

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