Freestyle

Free is the easiest and the first stroke you learn when you learn to swim. It is also commonly reffereed to as the "front crawl". Its called free because you can technically swim any stroke during any freestyle race and not get disqualified. So if your fly was faster than your free you could swim fly instead. Or if you got tired during long distance races you could switch to backstroke.

The only real rules is that you have to touch each wall, you can not touch the bottom of the pool or pull in the laneline. Some of the best freestylers are Katie Ledecky, Mark Spitz, and Caleab Dressel.

100 Records

Currently Cesar Cielo from Brazil hold the men's WR with a time of 46.91. Swedish Sarah Sjostrom holds the women's WR with a time of 51.71.

200 Records

Paul Biederman from Germany holds the men's WR with a time of 1:42.00. Federica Pellegrini from Italy holds the women's WR with a time of 1:52.89.

Katie Ledecky

She is an American competitive swimmer. Having won 7 Olympic gold medals and 15 world championship gold medals, the most in history for a female swimmer, she is considered one of the greatest Olympians and the greatest female swimmer of all time. Ledecky is the world record holder in the women's 800, and 1500 meter freestyle (long course) as well as the former world record holder in the women's 400-meter freestyle (long course). She also holds the fastest-ever times in the women's 500, 1000, and 1650 yard freestyle events.

Caleab Dressel

Dressel holds American records in the 50 meter and 100 meter freestyle, 50 meter and 100 meter butterfly (all long course meters). He also holds American records in the 50 yard and 100 yard freestyle events, the 100 yard butterfly, and the 200 yard individual medley, and formerly held a national record in the 100 yard breaststroke. Over the course of his collegiate career, he won NCAA titles in the 50 yard freestyle, 100 yard freestyle, and 100 yard butterfly individual events.

Mark Spitz

He is an American former competitive swimmer and nine-time Olympic champion. He was the most successful athlete at the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich, winning seven gold medals, all in world record time. This was an achievement that lasted for 36 years until it was surpassed by fellow American Michael Phelps, who won eight golds at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing.