All through the primary few weeks of 2024, we launched our annual Prime 100 lists, rating the highest 100 men and women in swimming for the approaching 12 months.
With 2024 within the rearview mirror, it’s time to do a fast assessment of final 12 months’s rankings earlier than we kick off the Prime 100 for 2025.
TOP 100 FOR 2024 – WOMEN’S RANKINGS
Revisiting the ladies’s rankings, it’s clear the highest 11 picks have been prudent ones as 10 of them gained a number of particular person medals in Paris and the opposite was Mollie O’Callaghan, who gained gold within the ladies’s 200 free and was an in depth 4th within the 100 free—additionally profitable 4 relay medals and rating within the high 4 on this planet in 4 occasions.
Particularly trying on the high eight, there could possibly be arguments for issues to look a bit completely different in quite a lot of methods. With two particular person gold medals, it could possibly be argued that Sarah Sjostrom ought to’ve been larger than #8, and the identical could possibly be stated for Katie Ledecky at #4.
Nevertheless, swimmers like Kate Douglass and Regan Smith may not have gained a number of particular person golds in Paris, however along with the Olympic success they did have, they made a higher influence all through 2024, setting a number of world data and profitable world titles within the brief course pool on the finish of the 12 months.
Given it was an Olympic 12 months, lengthy course performances and ends in Paris have been the primary piece of standards in final 12 months’s rankings, although brief course definitely factored in given Brief Course Worlds was in December.
On the high, #1 Summer season McIntosh and #2 Kaylee McKeown backed up these rankings.
After the highest 11, Li Bingjie, Lilly King, Ruta Meilutyte and Shayna Jack all failed to achieve the rostrum individually in Paris, although all however Meilutyte managed a 4th or Fifth-place end on the Olympics. For Meilutyte, she was clearly off type in Paris, inserting eleventh within the 100 breast, although she did win gold within the 50 breast at each the Lengthy Course Worlds in Doha and Brief Course Worlds in Budapest.
At #21, Torri Huske outperformed her rating with two particular person Olympic medals, together with a gold within the 100 fly, as did Gretchen Walsh, who was ranked twenty eighth however broke a protracted course world report, picked up silver within the 100 fly in Paris, after which rewrote the report books at Brief Course Worlds.
The bottom-ranked particular person Olympic medalists in pool swimming have been Meg Harris and Mona McSharry at 54 and 55, whereas Tang Qianting, Paige Madden and Emma Weyant have been three medalists we omitted of the Prime 100 final 12 months.
The most important oversight is Tang, who gained LC and SC world titles within the 100 breast to associate with a silver within the occasion on the Olympics—she raced sparsely in 2023, inserting sixth within the 50 breast and twentieth within the 100 breast on the 2023 Worlds.
TOP 100 FOR 2024 – MEN’S RANKINGS
In contrast to the ladies, among the high 10 male swimmers didn’t carry out as anticipated final 12 months, with solely three of the highest 10 incomes a person gold medal in Paris.
The one male to win a number of particular person gold medals, Leon Marchand was a slam-dunk decide for #1, however #2 Qin Haiyang underperformed on the Olympics, #3 Ahmed Hafnaoui withdrew from the Video games, and #4 Sam Brief was coping with damage and was nicely off type.
Trying again, some elite names who have been coming off down years in 2023, David Popovici and Kristof Milak, have been underrated at #17 and #30, respectively, as each gained one gold and two complete medals in Paris.
Our lowest-ranked swimmer who gained particular person gold in Paris was Nicolo Martinenghi at #32, whereas others ranked too low based mostly on their Olympic performances have been Ilya Kharun and Gregorio Paltrinieri, who each gained two medals on the Video games.
Luke Hobson, who roared to a SC world title and new world report within the 200 free in December, was the lowest-ranked swimmer to win a person medal on the Olympics, whereas two who weren’t featured within the Prime 100 gained particular person medals: Apostolos Christou and Tomoyuki Matsushita. They each gained silver, with Christou doing so within the 200 again and Matsushita within the 400 IM.
Together with Qin, Hafnaoui and Brief, #6 Maxime Grousset, #10 Tom Dean, #18 Jack Alexy and #20 Tomoru Honda have been the opposite swimmers ranked within the high 20 who didn’t win any particular person medals in Paris.
Grousset completed Fifth in each the 100 free and 100 fly, Dean was Fifth within the 200 IM however notably did not qualify for the Video games because the defending champion within the 200 free, and Alexy was seventh in a 100 free last that was shut exterior of gold medalist Pan Zhanle. Honda was among the many swimmers off type in Paris, inserting twenty second within the 200 fly after profitable bronze on the 2023 Worlds after which gold on the 2024 version in Doha.
