Archaeological and other evidence has given us the belief that swimming has been practiced as early as 2500 BC. In the earliest times, it took place in Egypt, Assyria, Greece, and Rome. In Rome, swimming was part of the education of elementary age boys. They also built the first swimming pools, and in the first century BC, they built the first heated swimming pool. In Japan, swimming dates back to the first century BC. There were many swimming events that took place in Japan before it was opened to the Western world. In the Pacific areas, swimming was taught to children by the time they could walk. In ancient Greece, there were few races, but they are famous for having one of their best boxers swim as part of his training. Many places in Europe explain their lack of swimming on their fear that it causes you to catch an infection that someone has who swam in the same water before you. They formed their first swimming organization in 1837, which mostly took place in London, which by then had 6 indoor pools all with diving boards. Later, in 1869, London founded the Amateur Swimming Association, which inspired many more swimming associations in Europe from 1882-1889. Australia held a swim meet in 1864(and annually from then on), in which the first swimming championship happened during the 440-yard race. In the United States, swimming didn't become a recognized sport until 1888. The Amateur Athletic
Union (AAU) founded it. Then, in 1909, the Federation Internationale de Natation
Amateur (FINA) was founded.