In my opinion, swimming is the hardest sport out there. Even if you've been doing it for a long time, it just gets more difficult. And unlike other sports, you don't rely on your teammates, unless your in a relay. It's just you, the water, and your opponents and it requires your physical and mental strength. And there is so much pressure on your shoulders. I remember our coach was always hard on us, which was good. He made us do things like fifty 100's, seventy 50's, and thirty 500's. But that was only one time before we headed to states and he worked us hard and then we had taper so we could get our best times and it was tough because every day for 2 weeks it was like that, and now that I look back on it I'm amazed I was even able to do that, because it was just so hard. So yes, when you swim you have a lot of mental pressure and it's scary, and some girls had to quit on my team because asthma became too much of a problem because of how hard our coach was working us with sprints. We also did distance of course, but it was the sprints that got them. Also, swimming uses all of the muscles, and it's a sport that is just genuinely great for general excercise, because it burns plenty of calories. I hate how people always think of swimming as the easiest sport out there, because it definitely isn't, and I'd like to see the football jocks at my school do what I do with my times in the water, because it's harder than you'd think. It really tests your strength and body's tolerance.