Swimming was the act of propelling one's self through water, typically on its surface. When practised competitively on Earth, it was often done in an Olympic-sized pool. Competitive swimming events were often over distances greater than a single length of the pool, requiring swimmers to be able to "flip" efficiently at the end of each length. (PROSE: Father Time)
However, swimming was sometimes done purely recreationally, either in a body of water (TV: Planet of Fire) or a swimming pool, (TV: Paradise Towers) as Ace did on at least one occasion in the TARDIS swimming pool. (PROSE: Loving the Alien)
While serving as a governess under the alias Miss Montague, Clara Oswin Oswald claimed to her young charges in 1892 that she invented fish so she wouldn't be alone while swimming. (TV: The Snowmen)
Swimmers[]
When Henry Gordon Jago was a child, his aunt Maude used to take him swimming in Margate. (AUDIO: Jago & Litefoot & Patsy)
Miranda Dawkins was a particularly good swimmer for her age — indeed, she threatened at least one Olympic record — in part because of her flips. (PROSE: Father Time)
The Doctor, too, was a proficient swimmer, particularly in his third, (PROSE: The Devil Goblins from Neptune) fifth (TV: Warriors of the Deep) and eighth incarnations. (PROSE: The Bodysnatchers) Indeed, all Gallifreyans could swim with ease, being especially buoyant due to having a series of pulmonary tubes parallel to the lymphatic system instead of large lungs. (PROSE: Island of Death) The Second Doctor told Serena that he had taken his Gallifrey Lifesaver's Certificate at the Academy. (PROSE: World Game)
Turlough was a good enough swimmer to be able to rescue Peri Brown from apparent drowning in the ocean waters off Lanzarote. (TV: Planet of Fire)
Melanie Bush was a fan of swimming and was swayed to visit Paradise Towers mainly on the strength of its sales pitch about its pool facilities. Unfortunately, her attempt at swimming there was sabotaged by aquatic robots. (TV: Paradise Towers)
Emma was a professional swimmer training for the Globe Games at BASE. (PROSE: The Sontaran Games)
In 2011, the Colchester Evening News published an article on an up-and-coming Colchester swimmer representing Britain at the 2012 Olympic Games. (TV: Closing Time)
According to the Eleventh Doctor, Jo Grant's thirteenth grandchild was a great swimmer. (TV: Death of the Doctor)
On one planet, the first of the Tests of Trefus was to swim across a crocodile-infested lake. This was accomplished by Saul with some help from the Second Doctor. (COMIC: The Tests of Trefus)
Susan Foreman was proficient enough at swimming and diving to raise navigate through the Japanese coast to the TARDIS. (AUDIO: The Barbarians and the Samurai)