The founding of the Fédération Internationale de Natation (FINA) in 1908 was a pragmatic response to an increase in international sporting events, crowned by the Olympic Games. At the first modern Olympics in 1896, three swimming contests were held. However, no universally accepted rules, regulations or definitions governed the swimming events.
　　20世纪初，国际性的体育运动会日渐增多，而奥运会的出现则使这一趋势达到顶峰。正是在这个时期，国际游泳联合会（简称“国际泳联”）于1908成立。在1896年首届现代奥运会上设置了３个游泳比赛项目。但当时游泳比赛尚没有统一的竞赛规则及标准。为有效应对这种情况，国际游泳联合会（简称“国际泳联”，英文为FINA）于1908正式成立。

　　The Olympic Games competitions prior to FINA had included a variety of unusual events such as underwater swimming (1900), 200m obstacle swimming (1900) and plunge¹ for distance (1904). Prior to the London Olympics, where a 100m pool was used, the ocean (1896), the River Seine (1900), and a little lake in St. Louis, USA (1904), had been used as Olympic sites.
　　在国际泳联成立以前，奥运会游泳比赛曾包括一些非常规项目，如1900年奥运会上的潜泳、200米障碍泳以及1904年奥运会上的水上跳远等。奥运会游泳赛场也是五花八门：1896年奥运会游泳比赛是在海中进行的，1900年奥运会游泳比赛在塞纳河中进行，1904年奥运会的游泳比赛则选在美国圣路易斯的一个小湖中举行。直到伦敦奥运会才开始使用100米泳池。

　　In order to unify² the rules and create a forum³ for international meetings, the leaders of the eight attending countries (Germany, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Great Britain, Hungary and Sweden) met on 19 July 1908 at the Manchester Hotel, London, on the occasion of the Games of the IV Olympiad, and resolved to form a world-wide swimming association. Priority decisions or goals were clear: to standardise the rules for swimming, diving and water polo; to obtain control of world records and to maintain an up-to-date list of these records; and finally, to ensure the direction of Olympic Games competitions for swimming, diving and water polo.
　　为了统一游泳竞赛规则，建立一个国际泳坛的交流场所，在第四届奥运会期间，来自德国、比利时、丹麦、芬兰、法国、英国、匈牙利和瑞典等８个国家的领导人于1908年7月19日在伦敦的曼彻斯特酒店开会，决定成立一个世界范围的游泳协会。这个协会的首要目标是非常明确的：规范统一游泳、跳水和水球比赛规则； 负责审核、确认及更新世界纪录；指导奥运会游泳、跳水和水球比赛。

　　Outstanding accomplishments⁴ in the last 40 years have included the introduction of the World Championships (1973), the first World Cups (1979), the Olympic debut⁵ of synchronised swimming (1984), the Short Course World Swimming Championships (1993), the Diving Grand Prix (1994), advances in the use of technology, specifically of electronic timing⁶ equipment; and the rapid development of the swimming programme to include new events such as Masters and Open Water Swimming. 
　　在过去的40多年中，游泳运动取得了一系列突出成就，发起了世界游泳锦标赛（1973年）、世界杯赛（1979年）、世界短池游泳锦标赛（1993年）、跳水系列大奖赛（1994年），花样游泳项目成为奥运会正式比赛项目（1984年）。与此同时，高科技设备在游泳比赛中的应用，特别是在电子计时设备取得了长足发展。游泳比赛的项目迅速扩展，产生了大师赛及公开水域赛等多种新项目。

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