A 1908 rule change in Swimming breaks a straight line from earlier seasons to later ones. This Swimming guide keeps 1908 Olympic pool as the worked example and 50 metres of the race as the count held still, and it names World Aquatics because the public frame reaches back to 1908.
Before and after 1908 Olympic pool, the figure 50 metres of the race may not mean the same thing. Footnote the break, name World Aquatics, and keep 1908 as the year the older frame began. Say that figure out loud, then open the era control or the linked section on purpose. This is a reading of the Swimming atlas, not a bet, not a prediction, and not an official World Aquatics ranking.
Pick two names from this sport’s all-time list. The larger number in each shared stat is highlighted.
| Stat | Michael Phelps | Katie Ledecky |
|---|
Tick a point once you could explain it in your own words. Ticks stay on this device.
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Start with "The season before the change". For Swimming, the concrete case is 1908 Olympic pool, and the count you hold still is 50 metres of the race. World Aquatics is the body named here; 1908 is the reference year, so you are reading a published frame rather than inventing a rank.
The next check is "The season after the change". Keep 1908 Olympic pool in view while 50 metres of the race stays the unit, because mixing a different count would make the Swimming comparison look sharper than it is. World Aquatics has been the public frame since 1908.
Pause on "The figure that is no longer comparable" before you treat every prize as the same kind of fact. 1908 Olympic pool is the example, 50 metres of the race is the count, and World Aquatics does not ask this atlas to publish an official Swimming order. The reference year is 1908.
Close the loop with "How to footnote the break". After you can say 1908 Olympic pool and 50 metres of the race out loud, open the linked Swimming section. The anchors remain World Aquatics and 1908. This page still does not forecast a result.
This page shows how to read the Swimming comparison around 1908. It is not an official World Aquatics ranking, not a prediction, and not a betting note.
Swimming GOAT · Swimming rules
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