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Aquatics include individual and team disciplines such as diving, swimming, synchronized swimming, and water polo, as well as equipment-based sports such as rowing, sailing, surfing, and canoe/kayaking.

History
Aquatics is among the oldest field at the modern Olympic Games, although none trace their lineage back to the ancient Greeks. Swimming has been a part of human life as long as men have lived near water, but the Games take a more artistic approach to the sport. Competitors are often judged on skill and speed, and given freedom to move about the water as they choose – this is different from some other Olympic sports (such as the winter sport biathlon, or combat sports) which mimic traditional activities like hunting or warfare and have strict rules.

Sports

Diving
Diving was first introduced in the 1904 St. Louis games and has never been removed from the program, although it has changed considerably. Initial dives were called “fancy diving” when referring to the various somersaults and twists performed by divers, which was distinct from the Plunge for Distance event. The latter was removed in the subsequent Games and replaced with springboarding. Additional events and womens events were added in the following decades.

Modern Olympic diving has several categories, with divers leaping from various heights. In each category, the goal is to score as many points as possible by performing tricks and acrobatics before hitting the water. When entering the water, the size of a diver’s splash is also part of his score: the smaller, the better.

Swimming & Marathon swimming
Dating back to the very first modern Olympic Games in 1896, swimming is one of the most consistently well-attended events at any Games. Swimming is a very simple sport, stripped of any of the artistry of diving: it’s a simple race across a set distance, which is defined by lengths of the pool. Each swimmer gets a lane separated by buoys, and time is measured from a starting gun to the instant the swimmer touches the finishing wall. Events include freestyle swimming, which is often dominated by the front crawl or butterfly strokes, and specific categories which only permit one type of stroke, or a combination of strokes. Distances range from 50m to 800m.

Marathon swimming is the same as regular swimming, but the race takes place over a distance of 10km instead.

Synchronized swimming
Now known as artistic swimming, this is the act of a duet or troupe of swimmers performing a water dance within a set amount of time. Previous Games included a solo event, but this has been discontinued since 1996. Notably, synchronized swimming is a women-only sport.

Water polo
Mens water polo has been part of the Games since 1900, but there was not a womens event until a century later in 2000. Water polo is a competitive ball sport played in a pool using a net. Each team fields six players and a goalkeeper. It is similar to basketball and soccer: players must control the ball and attempt shots on the opposing goal to score points. The team with the most points at the end of the game is the victor.

Canoe/kayak (sprint & slalom)
Canoeing and kayaking are race events that take place either in straight lanes similar to a swimming race (sprint) or more technically demanding competitions that require navigating a simulated whitewater river. The distinction between these events is the type of vessel used and the number of rowers. A C-2 race means canoes with two rowers, whereas a K-1 race means kayaks with single rowers. Canoes have 1-2 rowers, whereas kayaks have 1, 2, or 4. The distance of a race can range from

Rowing
A waterborne race between multiple vessels, each of which is powered by a team of rowers. There are a variety of distances and event types, which are offered to men and women. The categories include single, double, and quadruple sculls, and coxless pairs and fours. Sculls are rowing boats where each rower grasps an oar in each hand, and coxless boats are boats with lopsided oars, with each rower using both his hands to grasp one. There is also no “coxswain,” or boat captain, to direct the rowers in coxless categories.

Sailing
Referred to as yachting until the 2000 Games, sailing has been at almost every single Games since 1896. Its scoring systems and race format have changed dramatically over the years, with many revisions to scoring and accounting for ties, and some Games have fleet races (open races with many boats) and others using a match race format (two individual boats competing head to head). There has also been change in the way boating classes are calculated (length vs weight).

Sailing was initially a unisex sport, and women competed in the early 20th century, with the single exception being the 1948 Games. For a complete listing of the many type of boats used over the years, consult this link.

Surfing
Surfing will make its debut appearance at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. The event itself will take place in the ocean near Chiba, not a wave pool, and will use a four-man heat structure, with the top two in each heat advancing.