Competitive swimming became increasingly popular in Wales with the opening of indoor swimming pools at the end of the nineteenth century. This development was reflected by the formation of the Welsh Amateur Swimming Association and the first Welsh swimming championships.

It was not long before Wales had produced world-class swimmers such as Paulo Radmilovic, Irene Steer and Valerie Davies, all of whom were from Cardiff.

A 50m swimming pool in Cardiff, named 'The Empire Pool', was constructed in time for the Commonwealth Games in 1958. It proved to be valuable facility for competitive swimming in Wales until its demolition in 1997. It was finally replaced by the National Swimming Centre in Swansea, which opened in 2003.

Welsh swimmers have continued to excel in the twenty-first century, in particular David Davies of Cardiff and David Roberts, the paraolympian from Pontypridd.