When did swimming competitions start?

Answer 1

Competitive swimming in Europe started around 1800, mostly using breaststroke. In 1873 John Arthur Trudgen introduced the trudgen to Western swimming competitions, after copying the front crawl used by Native Americans. Due to a British disregard for splashing, Trudgen employed a scissor kick instead of the front crawl's flutter kick. Swimming was part of the first modern Olympic games in 1896 in Athens. In 1902 Richard Cavill introduced the front crawl to the Western world. In 1908, the world swimming association, Fédération Internationale de Natation (FINA), was formed. The butterfly stroke was developed in the 1930s and was at first a variant of breaststroke, until it was accepted as a separate style in 1952.

People have always competed and there are stories of Vikings swimming out to sea the one who returned won (the other drowned - now THAT'S competitive!)

Answer 2

According to Wikipedia, quote: competitive swimming in Europe started around 1800, mostly using breaststroke. In 1873 John Arthur Trudgen introduced the trudgen to Western swimming competitions, after copying the front crawl used by Native Americans. Due to a British disregard for splashing, Trudgen employed a scissor kick instead of the front crawl's flutter kick. In 1902 Richard Cavill introduced the front crawl to the Western world. In 1908, the world swimming association, the FINA, was formed. The butterfly stroke was developed in the 1930s and was at first a variant of breaststroke, until it was accepted as a separate style in 1952.

Unquote:

However, an Egyptian clay seal dated between 4000 BC and 9000 BCshows four swimmers who are believed to be swimming a variant of the front crawl.