Ok granted i'm being a pedantic old man but i'd like to point out that when competitors compete in a freestyle event they can swim however they like. The stroke chosen is invariably Australian Crawl, sidestroke, call it what you will because it is the fastest stroke, but what it isn't is called Freestyle. There is nothing to stop a competitor swimming breaststroke in a freestyle event (except they would lose), because its free- style.
You can go back to swimming events in the fifties to see swimmers still using the Butterfly style in "freestyle" events but clearly they it was proven to be less effective than the stroke we see today. Ok i feel better now.

I guess it's one of those things that the meaning has changed over time. Bit like saying that gay means happy when in this day and age it just doesn't.

I can picture you being pedantic and a man ... but not old.