Led by the dominant efforts of Michael Phelps, Katie Ledecky, Mark Spitz and others, the United States has molded itself into an Olympic swimming powerhouse.
Phelps owns a record 28 career Olympic medals, including 23 of the golden variety. ESPN's top Olympian and top athlete of the 21st century also holds three individual Olympic swimming records and was part of two record-breaking Olympic relay teams.
Katie Ledecky broke her previously held record for the women's 1500m freestyle at the 2024 Paris Olympics. Check out other top swimming records now:
Freestyle
Men's 50m: Caeleb Dressel (United States) 21.07 seconds at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics
Women's 50m: Emma McKeon (Australia) 23.81 seconds at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics
Men's 100m: Caeleb Dressel (United States) 47.02 seconds at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics
Women's 100m: Emma McKeon (Australia) 51.96 seconds at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics
Men's 200m: Michael Phelps (United States) 1:42.96 seconds at the 2008 Beijing Olympics
Women's 200m: Ariarne Titmus (Australia) 1:53.50 seconds at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics
Men's 400m: Yang Sun (China) 3:40.14 seconds at the 2012 London Olympics
Women's 400m: Katie Ledecky (United States) 3:56.46 seconds at the 2016 Rio Olympics
Men's 800m: Mykhailo Romanchuk (Ukraine) 7:41.28 seconds at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics
Women's 800m: Katie Ledecky (United States) 8:04.79 seconds at the 2016 Rio Olympics
Men's 1500m: Bobby Finke (United States) 14:30:67 seconds at the 2024 Paris Olympics
Women's 1500m: Katie Ledecky (United States) 15:30.02 seconds at the 2024 Paris Olympics
Backstroke
Men's 100m: Ryan Murphy (United States): 51.85 seconds at the 2016 Rio Olympics
Women's 100m: Kaylee McKeown (Australia) 57.47 seconds at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics
Men's 200m: Evgeny Rylov (Russia) 1:53.27 seconds at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics
Women's 200m: Missy Franklin (United States): 2:04.06 seconds at the 2012 London Olympics
Breaststroke
Men's 100m: Adam Peaty (Great Britain) 57.13 seconds at the 2016 Rio Olympics
Women's 100m: Tatjana Schoenmaker (South Africa) 1:04.82 seconds at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics
Men's 200m: Leon Marchand (France) 2:05.85 seconds at the 2024 Paris Olympics
Women's 200m: Tatjana Schoenmaker (South Africa) 2:18.95 seconds at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics
Butterfly
Men's 100m: Caeleb Dressel (United States) 49.45 seconds at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics
Women's 100m: Sarah Sjostroem (Sweden) 55.48 seconds at the 2016 Rio Olympics
Men's 200m: Leon Marchand (France) 1:51.21 seconds at the 2024 Paris Olympics
Women's 200m: Zhang Yufei (China) 2:03.86 seconds at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics
Individual medley
Men's 200m: Leon Marchand (France) 1:54:06 seconds at the 2024 Paris Olympics
Women's 200m: Summer McIntosh (Canada) 2:06:56 at the 2024 Paris Olympics
Men's 400m: Leon Marchand (France) 4:02:95 seconds at the 2024 Paris Olympics
Women's 400m: Katinka Hosszu (Hungary) 4:26.36 seconds at the 2016 Rio Olympics
Freestyle relay
Men's 4x100m: Michael Phelps, Garrett Weber-Gale, Cullen Jones, Jason Lezak (United States) 3:08.24 seconds at the 2008 Beijing Olympics
Women's 4x100m: Bronte Campbell, Meg Harris, Emma McKeon, Cate Campbell (Australia) 3:29.69 seconds at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics
Men's 4x200m: Michael Phelps, Ryan Lochte, Ricky Berens, Peter Vanderkaay (United States) 6:58.56s seconds at the 2008 Beijing Olympics
Women's 4x200m: Junxuan Yang, Muhan Tang, Zhang Yufei, Li Bingjie (China) 7:40.33 seconds at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics
Medley relay
Men's 4x100m: Ryan Murphy, Michael Andrew, Caeleb Dressel, Zach Apple (United States) 3:26.78 seconds at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics
Women's 4x100m: Regan Smith, Lilly King, Gretchen Walsh, Torri Huske (United States) 3:49:63 seconds at the 2024 Paris Olympics
Mixed 4x100m: Ryan Murphy, Nic Fink, Gretchen Walsh, Torri Huske (United States) 3:37.43 seconds at the 2024 Paris Olympics
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