Why Are Swimmers So Nice? While swimmers go about their lives with an intense competitive nature, sportsmanship seems less fickle in our sport than it does among other sports that are more popular. In swimming there are no brawls, tantrums are scarce, and tempers rarely exceed past goggles thrown at the wall. Rather, moments after a thrilling victory, we might console those who we’ve defeated. Seconds after losing to our most bitter of rivals, we shake their hands over the line. Impressive races are adulated without fail; swimmers approach one another as equals and often become acquainted outside of the pool. Common courtesy is all the more common in our sport. | 