Sports often intersect with the carryings on of the military, not just as a means of training soldiers for the vigours of combat, but as a component of that combat itself.
It seems everyone knows the story of the first marathon – the crucial 26.2- mile foot race Pheidippides undertook from a battlefield near the town of Marathon, Greece, to Athens in 490 BCE to announce an Athenian military success over those pesky Persians who were attempting to subjugate Greece. Legend states that Pheidippides dropped dead upon delivering his momentous news.
Less widely remembered is how swimming has frequently played an integral role to military prowess both ancient and modern across cultures.