Why is the mile swim 1650 and not 1750 which would be a little closer to the actual distance of 1760 yards=1 mile. Can anyone shed some light on this? Thank you.
Carl Selles
:banana:
I was told that the 1650 was the total yards of a H S swim meet ??!!
Not true. Individual events total 1,350 yards. You've got the 50, 100, 200 and 500 free. 100s in each stroke (300 total) and the 200 IM. If you want to include the relays you used to have an additional 600 yards (200 medley and 400 free) and now 800 yards with the inclusion of the 200 free relay.
USA-Swimming likely decided to replace the true old-fashioned mile with a newer, more worldly distance, but people were so used to calling this distance the “mile” that the name lived on
Which raises the question: why would they call 1500 meters "the mile?" That would be sort of like calling a kilogram "two pounds."
And, no, USA Swimming didn't exist back then.
I was told that the 1650 was the total yards of a H S swim meet ??!!
Not true. Individual events total 1,350 yards. You've got the 50, 100, 200 and 500 free. 100s in each stroke (300 total) and the 200 IM. If you want to include the relays you used to have an additional 600 yards (200 medley and 400 free) and now 800 yards with the inclusion of the 200 free relay.
USA-Swimming likely decided to replace the true old-fashioned mile with a newer, more worldly distance, but people were so used to calling this distance the “mile” that the name lived on
Which raises the question: why would they call 1500 meters "the mile?" That would be sort of like calling a kilogram "two pounds."
And, no, USA Swimming didn't exist back then.
