Freestyle as in a type of stroke in swimming. Most commonly refered to as Australian Crawl, or front crawl, but known as freestyle in the US. Possibly the reason for this is that any stroke is accepted during "freestyle" race, therefore, free style.
Usually the fastest stroke, but is considered an alternative in the Medley Relay, and the Idividual Medley Relay, that is Any other stroke not mentioned, as announced by the official. The swimmer can do any type of stroke that is not officialy backstroke, breaststroke, or butterfly.
Here comes a lengthy explanation of the stroke. Short of getting in the water, and swim for 25 hours a week with a coach, there is no other way to get this right.
Body/Head Position
The body is in a position that is close to horizontal, just under the surface of the water, but due to the sinking of the legs, the position tends to be more elevated at the head, especially in sprint events.
The position is just under the surface of the water. Because the resistance of the water surface is greater then that of the water itself, that is the most efficient position.
Generally, freestyle is thought to be completed mainly on the stomach, that is not completely true. The swimmer's upper body stays flat for only a fraction of the stroke, due to the rotation of the shoulders, in order to approach maximum stroke reach distance, this is crucial.
The head of the swimmer is as close to aligned with the rest of the body as possible. In long distance events, the muscles of the neck may be severely strained due to incorrect alignment. In sprints, the upper body becomes raised in the water, thus, raising the head to where the waterline is just above the goggle line. The swimmer is looking almost to the other end of the pool. In long distance event, the body is more level, in order to conserve energy, therefore the head is lower in the water, but still not completely underneath the water level. The swimmer is looking slightly ahead on the bottom of the pool.
The Stroke
The stroke is done overhand, where the whole arm, including at least the lower shoulder in distance events, and as much as half of the body in sprints, is above the water on the recovery. The goal of the stroke is to create minimum resistance on the recovery, and produce as much power on the pull as possible.
Reach
The stroke begins when the shoulders become almost perpendicular to the water, the rest of the body follows the shoulders trailing by a fraction of a second. The arm that is on the bottom is fully extended towards the other side of the pool. The palm if flattened, and is facing down, towards the bottom. The recovering arm is down the body of the swimmer, ready to exit the water, shoulder out of the water almost completely.
Pull
The arm on the bottom begins the stroke by turning the palm slightly inward, and towards the body. The stroke arm begins pressing down in the water, and back, towards, the swimmer's feet. When the arm is slightly before the head, the elbow bends, and the stroke arm is pressing the water back, towards the swimmer's feet, passing the hip of on the side of the stroke arm, completing the stroke to be as long as possible.
Recovery
The other arm stays opposite of the stroke arm, the motion symbolizes a windmill. The recovery arm exits the water, bends at the elbow, and the wrist is brought close to the side of the body, passing the armpit, the head. This is where the shoulders rotate. The stroke arm at this point is bending at the elbow, and is passing the head...opposite of the recovery arm. The recovery arm passes the head, the shoulders rotate, the recovery arm shoulder partially enters the water, and the arm extends as far out in front of the swimmer as possible, assisted by the rotation of the shoulders. Fingertips enter the water first, and the swimmer is now turned to the other side.
The Breath
The breath can be executed when the recovery arm is just about to pass the midsection. Since the swimmer is almost on their side, the head rotates up, and the swimmer takes a breath of air. The motion of the arms never stops.
The Kick
The kick is generally a modified scissors kick, where separate legs move together as a whole, only slightly bending at the knee. The kick is generally preferred to be kept underwater, in order for maximum effect, but very powerful kick in sprint events, produces an effect that can be compared to the eggbeater beating water into foam. There is no right rhythm in the kick, it is generally determined by the person, and the event. The least requerment is to keep the body level, not let the legs not float.
The Turn
What happens when you run out of pool? You do a flipturn of course! This turn is widely varied, dependant on the skill, speed, and size of the swimmer. it is similiar from butterfly to breastroke, and allmost the same in backstroke and freestyle.
The Times
For current World's Fastest times, please visit http://www.dragnet.com.au/~rodley/index_1.html
for there are too many different categories to be listed here.
NoteThere's is no right way to swim, everybody has their own way, and each one is unique to that person. Everybody does what they're most comfortable with, going as fast as they can. There is no way to be a good swimmer, short of doing it for a while. The only way to become good at something, is repetition. This also applies to swimming. The only way to get good, is to do 6-8 thousand yards a practice 7-11 times a week. This writeup is only a brief description of the stroke.