13 Best Olympic Swimmer in the World

13 Best Olympic Swimmer in the World

Do you want to learn more about the world’s best Olympic swimmer? Then go on to the end of our essay! When it comes to the top Olympic swimmers in the world, America has the most gold medalists.

America is a gold-medal powerhouse in both the male and female Olympic classifications.

Following that, Australia and Germany will be on the line.

The male category has a maximum of 23 gold medals while the female division has a maximum of 8.

So, based on the number of gold medals earned in the Olympic record (male and female) and their overall totals, we bring you the top thirteen best Olympic swimmers in the world today.

World’s 13 Best Olympic Swimmer

For our list, we used Wikipedia as our major source. But, before we get into the specifics, let’s take a quick look at the entire list on the table.

13. Krisztina Egerszegi

Krisztina Egerszegi, a former world record-holder from Hungary, is the first on our list.

Krisztina previously held the world record in the 200-meter backstroke long course.

The record remained for nearly 17 years before being broken.

At the age of 14, she won a silver medal in the 100-meter backstroke and became Olympic champion in the 200-meter backstroke at the 1988 Summer Olympics.

Egerszegi’s victory made her the youngest female Olympic champion in swimming history.

She was a three-time Olympian when she retired.

Egerszergi, likewise, is a five-time Olympic winner and one of four swimmers to win the same swimming event at three successive Summer Olympics.

She is also the first woman to win five Olympic gold medals.

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12. Ian Thorpe

Ian Thorpe, a 39-year-old Australian swimmer who competed in freestyle, backstroke, and individual medley, has retired at number 12.

Thrope is the only Australian male swimmer to have won three silver and one bronze Olympic goal medals.

Thrope competed in his first national competition in the Australian Age Championships in Brisbane in 1996.

He received five gold medals, two silver medals, and two bronze medals.

At the age of 14, he became Australia’s youngest male representative at the 1998 Perth World Championship.

He won the 400-meter freestyle to become the World’s youngest individual male champion.

Thrope dominated the 400-meter freestyle since winning the championship in 1998, winning every Olympic, World, Commonwealth, and Pan Pacific Swimming Championships until 2004.

Thrope became the first person to win six gold medals in a single World Aquatics Championships in 2001.

However, in 2006, he decided to withdraw from competitive swimming.

11. Emma McKeon

Emma McKeon, 28, is the only Australian swimmer with five Olympic gold medals, tying Ian Thrope.

She is one of the most decorated Olympians, having won 11 Olympic medals.

She tied for the most medals won by a woman in a single Olympic Games in the 2020 Summer Olympics.

Furthermore, McKeon is the top-scoring participant (male or female) for the 2021 FINA Swimming World Cup, having earned fourteen medals, ten of which were gold.

10. Gary Hall, Jr.

Former American swimmer Gary Hall Jr. is ranked tenth among our top Olympic swimmers

. Before the tournament, the 47-year-old was well-known for his pro-wrestling exploits.

Hall competed in his first professional swimming competition at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics.

During his first Olympic game, he was 21 years old.

The relay events were dominated by Hall and his teammates.

Similarly, Hall contributed to the 400-meter freestyle and medley relay world records.

At the competition, he also won two individual silvers and two team relay golds.

He competed in the Olympics in 1996, 2000, and 2004.

He won ten Olympic medals, five of which are gold, three of which are silver, and two of which are bronze.

Fans adored him for his eccentricities, but his career was marred by a performance-enhancing controversy.

However, Hall is undeniably one of the best Olympic swimmers.

As a result, in 2012, he was inducted into the United States Olympic Hall of Fame.

9. Amy Van Dyken

Amy Van Dyken, a former American competitive swimmer, and Olympic winner is ranked ninth.

Her professional career began at the 1992 U.S. Olympic Trials.

Van Dyken competed in the NCAA Championships in 1994 during her university year.

At the championship, she set her first U.S. record in the 50-yard freestyle with a time of 21.77 seconds.

She was also named the NCAA Female Swimmer of the Year.

Van Dyke moved to the United States Olympic Training Center after college to train full-time for the 1996 Olympics.

Her dedication paid off as she won four Olympic gold medals at the 1996 Summer Olympics.

Van Dyke was also the first American female swimmer to achieve the feat.

She has six gold medals in total at the Olympics. Unfortunately, a horrific ATV accident destroyed her spinal cord, leaving her paralyzed from the waist down, and her career was cut short.

8. Kristin Otto

Kristin Otto, a former German swimmer, is famous for becoming the first woman to win six gold medals in a single Olympic Games.

At the age of 16, she competed in her first world competition, the 1982 World Aquatics Championships.

She won a gold medal in the 100-meter backstroke and two gold medals in team relays.

Otto established a world record in the 200-meter freestyle in 1984.

She earned four gold and two silver medals in the 1986 World Championships.

Kristin also won five gold medals in the European Championships in 1987.

In the 50-meter and 100-meter butterfly events at the 1988 Seoul Olympics, Otto won six gold medals and set Olympic records.

She was also the first woman to swim the short course 100-meter backstroke in under a minute.

This legendary German swimmer retired in 1989.

The Olympian is currently employed as a sports reporter for German television.

7. Ryan Lochte

Ryan Lochte is the second-most decorated Olympic swimmer in history.

The 38-year-old professional swimmer has 12 Olympic medals and a world record in the 200-meter individual medley.

Lochte competed in the Junior Olympics at the age of 14 but was defeated.

After the defeat, he began to take the sport seriously.

He attended the University of Florida and competed in NCAA and SEC events.

In 2004, he made his international debut, representing the United States at the Summer Olympics in Athens, Greece.

Lochte took gold in the 4200-meter freestyle relay.

Lochte is well-known for his prowess on the short course.

He also excels at the backstroke and individual medley.

He has six gold, three silver, and three bronze Olympic medals.

Similarly, he owns the world record in the 4200-meter freestyle (long course) and 4100-meter freestyle (mixed) relays as a member of the American squad.

Lochte has the most Olympic medals in men’s swimming history.

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6. Katie Ledecky

Katie Ledecky, a 25-year-old American competition swimmer, is ranked sixth among the finest Olympic swimmers.

Katie is regarded as one of the best Olympians of all time, as well as the finest female swimmer of all time.

Ledecky began swimming at the age of six, motivated by her older brother.

She qualified for the Olympic team at the age of 15 in the 2012 U.S. Olympic Trials.

Ledecky delivered a great performance during the Summer Olympics finals in 2012.

With a time of 8:14.63, she won gold by more than four seconds. It was the second-fastest effort of all time at the time.

Since her Olympic debut in 2012, Ledecky has won 10 medals, seven of which have been gold.

Similarly, she has the most world championship gold medals ever won by a female swimmer (15).

Ledecky currently owns the record for the fastest-ever 500, 1000, and 1650-yard freestyle times.

She has also broken fourteen world records in her career.

5. Caeleb Dressel

Caeleb Dressel has seven Olympic gold medals in freestyle, butterfly, and individual medley events.

The 26-year-old American swimmer began swimming at an early age and began competitive year-round swimming by the age of eight.

In addition, in 2012, he broke the 20-second barrier in the 200-yard free relay with a time of 19.82 seconds.

He was the youngest male swimmer to compete in the 2012 United States Olympic Trials.

Dressel, however, did not make the Olympic team.

His performance in the 2016 U.S. Olympic Trials qualified him for the Olympic team.

He then earned his first Olympic medal at the 2016 Summer Olympics.

Dressel won five gold medals in the 2020 Summer Olympics.

Similarly, he became the first swimmer in contemporary Olympic Games history to win gold medals in the 50-meter, 100-meter freestyle, and 100-meter butterfly in 1896.

4. Jenny Thompson

Jenny Thompson is the list’s fourth-best Olympic swimmer.

The 49-year-old former American swimmer is one of history’s most decorated Olympians.

Thompson began swimming at the age of seven and had competed in several contests by the age of thirteen.

Her first international appearance was in the Pan American Games in 1987 when she was 14 years old.

She won the 500m freestyle and finished third in the 100m freestyle.

Meanwhile, Thompson made his Olympic debut at the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona.

During the Olympic Games, she set world records in the 50-meter and 100-meter freestyle.

Thompson has won twelve Olympic medals since then, including eight gold medals in 1992, 1996, 2000, and 2004 Summer Olympics.

Her eight gold medals are the most of any female swimmer.

3. Matt Biondi

Matt Biondi, a former American swimmer, and eleven-time Olympic medallist is ranked third.

The 56-year-old began his aquatic career as a swimmer and water polo player.

He was a member of the University of California’s NCAA championship water polo team during his freshman year.

Biondi qualified for the United States 4100-meter freestyle relay team at the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics 1984.

With his assistance, the United States team won gold in the Olympics and set a world record time.

Bondi competed in the Summer Olympics in 1984, 1988, and 1992.

He set three 50-meter freestyle world records and four 100-meter freestyle world records.

He won five gold medals at the 1988 Olympic Games in Seoul.

He won five gold medals and set world records in the 50-meter freestyle and three relay events during his career.

Bondi’s contributions were recognized by induction into the International Swimming Hall of Fame and the United States Olympic Hall of Fame.

2. Mark Spitz

With nine Olympic gold medals, 72-year-old former American competitive swimmer Mark Spitz ranks second among all Olympic swimmers.

Spitz began participating at the local swim club when he was six years old.

He held one world age group record and 17 national records at the age of ten.

Likewise, he competed in the AAU national championship.

Spitz competed in his first international competition at the 1965 Maccabiah Games.

He had already achieved eleven world records when he qualified for the 1968 Summer Olympics.

His most successful Olympic performance came in 1972, in the Summer Olympics in Munich.

Spitz won seven gold medals there, all in world record time.

Michael Phelps shattered the record, which had stood for 36 years, at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing.

Spitz won 11 Olympic gold, 31 AAU titles, and eight NCAA titles between 1968 and 1972.

Similarly, he established 35 world records, two of which were unofficial.

Swimming World Magazine named Spitz World Swimmer of the Year in 1969, 1971, and 1972.

 1. Michael Phelps

Michael Phelps, a former American competition swimmer, is the world’s best Olympic swimmer.

The 37-year-old is the most decorated and successful Olympian of all time.

Phelps is widely regarded as the greatest swimmer and one of the greatest athletes.

At the age of seven, he began swimming mainly due to his sister’s influence.

Phelps set a record with eight medals, six gold, and two bronze, at the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens.

Similarly, he won eight gold medals at the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing.

Phelps broke Mark Spitz’s 1972 Olympic record of seven first-place finishes.

In addition, he won four medals in the 2012 Summer Olympics and five more in the 2016 Summer Olympics.

His triumphs have elevated him to the ranks of the most accomplished athletes.

Similarly, his outstanding accomplishments have earned him the World Swimmer of the Year Award an unprecedented eight times.

Michael Phelps’ achievement of 23 gold medals is remarkable.

It is a challenging record that no other swimmer will be able to break or match.

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Conclusion

The Olympics are the world’s most prestigious international sporting events.

Only the best and most skilled athletes are eligible to compete, thus it is reasonable to conclude that these Olympic swimmers are among the best.