Debut proposed for fin swimming
Posted: Wednesday December 30, 1998 02:05 PM
ATHENS, Greece (AP) -- The obscure sport of fin swimming - in
which racers don a mermaid-like tail - is being proposed to become
par of the Olympics, the organizers for the 2004 Summer Games said
Wednesday.
The final decision on including any new sports rests with the
International Olympic Committee.
Fin swimmers stick both feet in a single rubber-and-fiberglass
"mono fin" up to 80 centimeters (32 inches) wide. They clasp
their hands together in front and propel through the water with
undulating whale-like thrusts of the fin.
World-class fin swimmers can move about 30 percent faster than
their conventional counterparts. Some fin swimmers use a snorkel,
but it was not clear if it would be used in possible Olympic
competition.
The sport is growing in nations such as Russia, China and
Australia, organizers said.
Athens already has proposed water skiing for 2004. A spokeswoman
for the organizing committee, Julie Velisaratou, said billiards and
karate also may be suggested.
Other sports waiting for the Olympic limelight include surfing,
ballroom dancing, acrobatics, roller skating and basque pelota, afast squash-like game in which contestants hurl the ball with large
curled scoops.
At the 2000 games in Sydney, Australia, taekwondo and the
grueling swim-cycling-running triathlon will be elevated to Olympic
status for the first time. In Atlanta in 1996, softball and beach
volleyball made their Olympic debut.
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