THE AMERICANS BEGAN TO CREATE KEEN CLUBES TO COMPETE IN THE DECADE OF 1870. THE FIRST OLYMPIC GAMES OF THE MODERN AGE, IN ATHENS, INCLUDED THE SWIMMING. ALTHOUGH SWIMMING HAS BEEN FOR THOUSANDS OF YEARS, THIS ONLY BECAME A COMPETITIVE SPORTS IN THE EARLY 1800s. FOR A LOT REASONS, WOMEN HAD NOT BEEN ALLOWED TO COMPETE IN OLYMPIC SWIMMING PRIOR TO 1912. BUT IN THAT YEAR, WOMEN MADE THEIR OLYMPIC SWIMMING DEBUT. THE FIRST CHAMPIONSHIP OF THE WORLD WAS CELEBRATED IN 1973. THE MOST IMPORTANT IN THE COMPETITION IS THE TIME. FOR THIS REASON THE MOST IMPORTANT FOR THE SWIMMERS IS BEAT RECORDS. IN THE PRESENT, SWIMMING IS THE THIRD MOST-IMPORTANT AND WATCHED SPORT IN THE OLYMPIC GAMES.
