Backstroke is a way of swimming on your back: you face the sky, your arms take turns reaching back through the water, and your feet kick. It is one of the four racing strokes, alongside freestyle, breaststroke, and butterfly. People also use the word for the race itself: “She won the 100 metres backstroke.” You can use it as a verb too: “He backstroked into the wall.” You travel head-first, not feet-first; you are lying on your back, not swimming “backwards” in the everyday sense. Though actually, beginners often wander out of the lane because they cannot see where they are going, which is why flags hang over the pool near the end — so a backstroke swimmer can count the strokes and not hit the wall with their head.