A Guide to Every Swim Stroke You'll See at Next Year's Summer Olympics in Tokyo

The way athletes sail across the water while swimming backstroke makes it seem so simple, but the stroke actually requires a lot of technique. First, a swimmer must keep their head up and back at all times. Then, "similar to freestyle, backstroke requires the swimmer to rotate their body and pull one arm at a time over their head," Latchford told POPSUGAR. "Backstroke kicks are also similar to freestyle, just on the back." Great backstrokers have amazing shoulder flexibility and core strength.