Breaststroke

Breaststroke is a swimming style in which the swimmer is on his or her chest and the torso does not rotate. It is the most popular recreational style due to the swimmer's head being out of the water a large portion of the time, and that it can be swum comfortably at slow speeds. In most swimming classes, beginners learn either the breaststroke or the front crawl first. However, at competition level, swimming breaststroke at speed requires comparable endurance and strength to other strokes. Some people refer to breaststroke as the "frog" stroke, as the arms and legs move somewhat like a frog swimming in the water. The stroke itself is the slowest of any competitive strokes and thought to be the oldest of all swimming strokes.

Speed and ergonomics

Breaststroke is the slowest of the four official styles in competitive swimming. The fastest breaststrokers can swim about 1.57 metres per second. Although it is the slowest of the four competitive strokes, it is commonly agreed that it is by far the most difficult to do correctly. It is also often the hardest to teach to rising swimmers after butterfly due to the importance of timing and the coordination required to move the legs properly.