By Sophie Kaufman on SwimSwam
After an unprecedented 12 months of racing that included the Olympics sandwiched between the Lengthy Course and Quick Course World Championships, it’s time to begin releasing our fifth annual High 100 checklist—take a look at final 12 months’s rankings right here.
As in earlier years, we’ve taken a statistically pushed method reliant primarily upon world rankings and medals received on the Olympics and, to a lesser extent, Quick Course Worlds and the 2024 Worlds in Doha. We’ve additionally taken under consideration issues reminiscent of potential, future medal alternatives, accidents, and flexibility. Lengthy course is weighted extra closely than quick course, although efficiency potential in each codecs is factored in.
After a big contingent of Russian and Belarusian swimmers raced at Quick Course Worlds in December, these swimmers have began to maneuver again up the rankings after they had been low on the lists final 12 months attributable to lack of competitors.
We’ll be breaking down the highest 100 into a number of installments, so hold an eye fixed out as they’re launched.
These lists are, by nature, subjective. For those who disagree, go away your ideas/ranks within the feedback.
Thanks to Daniel Takata for his assist with the info and compiling the rankings. Braden Keith contributed to this report.
Males’s Rankings:
- #100 – #91
- #90 – #81
- #80 – #71
- #70 – #61
- #60 – #51
- #50 – #41
- #40 – #31
- #30 – #21
- #20 – #11
- #10 – #1
#50: Tom Dean, Nice Britain (2024 Rank: 10) — The British males have grow to be infamous for his or her depth within the 200 freestyle. That energy was a double-edged sword for Tom Dean, one of many males who helped set up that legacy, as he missed out on his probability to defend his 200 freestyle Olympic gold in Paris. He swam a 1:45.09 on the British Trials, which held up for ninth on the planet final 12 months. Dean nonetheless certified for Workforce GB, incomes a roster spot within the 200 IM and on the 4×100 and 4×200 freestyle relays. Dean took fifth in his lone particular person occasion in Paris, swimming a 1:56.46 that’s simply off his lifetime finest 1:56.07. He ranked seventh on the 12 months, behind a slew of 1:55s. He break up 1:45.28 on the 4×200 freestyle relay, serving to Nice Britain grow to be the primary nation to defend its Olympic relay gold with the identical 4 swimmers. Dean hasn’t raced because the Olympic Video games, and so long as he chooses to swimsuit up in 2025, he’ll probably stay a key piece of the British roster. It damage his inventory in these rankings solely to make the Olympic roster in a single particular person occasion however at his finest, Dean is a menace in each the 200 freestyle and 200 IM.
#49: Nyls Korstanje, Netherlands (2024 Rank: 55) — Dash butterflyer Nyls Korstanje swam a lifetime finest of fifty.59 within the Paris 100 butterfly semifinals, qualifying 4th for the ultimate in a deep discipline that left many massive names on the surface trying in. The swim ranks him seventh on the planet final season. Korstanje added barely within the remaining and positioned sixth in 50.83. The swim improved on his Twelfth-place end in Tokyo. Even with that success, Korstanje excelled throughout the short-course season, swimming lifetime bests within the 50/100 fly. Korstanje received his first particular person Worlds medal in LCM or SCM on the 2024 Worlds in Budapest, profitable silver and turning into the second-fastest performer in historical past. Lengthy-course is weighted extra closely in these rankings, however Korstanje improved in each pool distances this previous 12 months. And with the 50 butterfly again on the schedule for Worlds, he’s bought one other medal alternative to shoot for this 12 months.
#48: Kim Woomin, South Korea (2024 Rank: 65) — Kim Woomin burst onto the worldwide stage in the beginning of 2024, profitable the boys’s 400 freestyle world title in Doha with a 3:42.71. With the swim, he turned the primary South Korean man since Park Taehwan in 2011 to face atop the Worlds podium within the occasion. He remained on the forefront of the worldwide scene throughout the lead-up to the Paris Olympics, reducing his finest to three:42.42 to win on the Monaco Mare Nostrum cease. Kim, 23, delivered on the Video games, profitable bronze in 3:42.50, holding off Australia’s Sam Quick by .14 seconds. With the swim, he earned South Korea’s first Olympic medal since 2012. Kim is a flexible freestyler, he lowered his 200 freestyle finest to 1:45.68 in March 2024 and clocked 7:46.03 to win the 800 freestyle on the 2023 Asian Video games. The freestyle mid-distance occasions are frequently crowded, however Kim has carved out an area for himself over the past 12 months and is now the Twelfth quickest performer in 400 free historical past.
#47: Hunter Armstrong, USA (2024 Rank: 24) — Hunter Armstrong slipped on the beginning of the boys’s 100 backstroke semifinal on the U.S. Olympic Trials. However the “Magic Man” clawed his manner again by the sphere, making the ultimate and finally qualifying for his second-straight Olympic Video games within the occasion. Armstrong additionally completed 4th within the 100 freestyle, qualifying for the boys’s 4×100 freestyle relay after swimming a lifetime finest 47.59 within the semifinals. Armstrong’s finest swim of the Paris Olympics got here on that relay; he delivered a blistering 46.75 break up to assist the U.S. males win gold. Armstrong has a historical past of eking by round-to-round earlier than unleashing within the remaining, and whether or not that plan misfired or he had a foul swim, Armstrong discovered himself locked out of the boys’s 100 backstroke remaining in eleventh. The 24-year-old hasn’t raced since Paris, however he has made a coaching change, returning to Ohio State after a stint at Cal. He additionally mentioned he’s “shifted [his] focus from simply swimming into establishing [his] life for after swimming.” The World Championships brings the 50 backstroke, the place Armstrong is the world file holder, again into the occasion lineup; Armstrong is likely one of the U.S.’s most skilled dash backstrokers, and his 100 freestyle break up on the Video games is intriguing.
#46: Caeleb Dressel, USA (2024 Rank: 29) — Caeleb Dressel accomplished his comeback to skilled swimming in 2024. After a sophisticated two years the place he reevaluated his relationship with the game, Dressel made his third Olympic group. He had a powerful week on the U.S. Olympic Trials in Indianapolis, qualifying for the Video games individually within the 100 butterfly (50.19) and 50 freestyle (21.41), and as a part of the 4×100 freestyle relay with a third place within the 100 freestyle (47.53). Dressel’s quickest swims of the 12 months got here at Trials; he didn’t match them in Paris however nonetheless positioned sixth within the 50 freestyle (21.61). He additionally took thirteenth within the 100 butterfly (51.57). He anchored the U.S. males’s 4×100 freestyle relay to gold, the tenth Olympic medal of his profession, and the American males’s solely gold till the ultimate day of competitors. With one other little one on the way in which, Dressel is doing his “due diligence” as he figures out what 2025 and the subsequent Olympic cycle will appear to be. But when 2024 was it for Dressel, it was an acceptable send-off for a swimmer who has impressed many not just for his success within the pool however for his openness about his psychological well being and the work it took to return to the pool.
#45: Jordan Crooks, Cayman Islands (2024 Rank: 77) — 19.90. Jordan Crooks made historical past on the 2024 Quick Course World Championships, turning into the primary man to interrupt the 20-second barrier within the 50 freestyle–a feat most of the greatest sprinters within the sport’s historical past got here up simply wanting reaching. It was a legendary swim from Crooks within the Budapest semifinals as he lowered the world file he set in prelims. The subsequent night, he defended his 50 freestyle world title, including a second medal to his haul after taking bronze within the 100 freestyle. Crooks has developed a sample of getting his finest swim in prelims/semifinals and lacking his finest throughout the worldwide remaining. It occurred in each the 50 and 100 freestyle in Budapest, because it did within the 50 freestyle on the 2022 SC Worlds. The identical factor occurred on the Paris Video games, although Crooks nonetheless confirmed that he might translate his SCM prowess into the long-course pool. He took eighth in Paris, turning into the primary Caymanian to make a swimming Olympic remaining after hitting a nationwide file 21.51 in prelims. Crooks has developed into an unbelievable short-course sprinter (yards and meters), and whereas his growth in LCM has been slower, he’s continued to make regular progress. Crooks has proven he can throw down the historic time, however it might be unbelievable to see him produce the historic time within the worldwide remaining.
#44: Nic Fink, USA (2024 Rank: 19) — Nic Fink has been america’ most reliable breaststroker over the past Olympic cycle, frequently discovering a manner onto the rostrum and delivering well timed relay splits. Fink was one of many greatest U.S names to attend the Doha World Championships, and he received 5 medals, medaling throughout all three particular person breaststroke distances and profitable the 100 breaststroke. Fink appeared to place extra emphasis on the 100 breaststroke reasonably than the 200 (which he made his first Olympic group in) and he certified for his second Video games within the 100 breaststroke. The boys’s 100 breaststroke remaining in Paris was sluggish, however Fink nonetheless earned the primary Olympic medal of his profession in a tie for silver with Adam Peaty. He then earned two extra medals (1 gold, and 1 silver) contributing to relays. At 31, Fink has already begun to suppose past his skilled swimming profession, however he’s made no public announcement about his retirement plans. Whereas the younger American breaststrokers have caught as much as him within the 200 breaststroke, Fink nonetheless holds the benefit over the sphere within the 100 breast. He’s racked up loads of expertise and so long as he desires to proceed swimming, is aware of what it takes to qualify for the usinternational roster and discover a manner onto the rostrum on the massive meet, irrespective of how briskly the sphere.
#43: Roman Mityukov, Switzerland (2024 Rank: 39) — The Olympic bronze medalist within the 200 again, Mityukov took benefit of a light-weight discipline on this occasion (his time was virtually a second slower than the bronze medalist from 2016) to win his nation’s 4th-ever Olympic medal in swimming. Nonetheless, an Olympic medal is an Olympic medal, and you’ll solely race the swimmers who present up. He dropped half a second to land on that podium in 2024 and has dropped time mainly yearly of his grownup life. Not a lot of a medal hope in some other occasion, however on this one, he’s wager for one more podium end in Singapore.
#42: Pieter Coetze, South Africa (2024 Rank: 50) — South African backstroker Pieter Coetze put plenty of emphasis in 2024, even skipping out on the 2023 World Championships to concentrate on final 12 months’s packed schedule. He did present up for the 2024 World Championships in Doha, incomes bronze within the 200 again within the lead-up to the Olympic Video games. Coetze made finals within the 100 and 200 backstroke in Paris, ending fifth and seventh, respectively. He broke the African file in each occasions (52.68/1:55.60), together with downing the super-suited 200 again world file, which stood since 2009. Coetze’s onslaught on the continental file books continued on the World Cup. He reset the African file within the 50/100 backstroke as he accomplished Triple Crowns within the 100 and 200 backstroke. Coetze skipped the 2024 SC Worlds however has established himself as a flexible backstroker on the world stage and can look to push even additional up the ranks in 2025.
#41: Chris Guiliano, USA (2024 Rank: NR) — Chris Guiliano continued his meteoric rise on the U.S. nationwide scene in 2024. He adopted up his shock qualification to the 2023 World Championship group with a breakout season in yards that noticed him vault up the all-time ranks within the dash freestyle occasions. He rose even greater on the U.S. Olympic Trials, turning into the primary American man since Matt Biondi to qualify for the Olympics within the 50/100/200 freestyle. Guiliano swam lifetime bests in all three occasions (21.59/47.25/1:45.38) as he certified for his debut Video games, and in some ways, Trials was the height of his season as these instances held as much as rank ninth/4th/Twelfth on the 12 months. He missed the semifinals in each the 50 and 200 freestyle on the Paris Olympics. He made the 100 freestyle remaining and positioned eighth. If Guiliano can implement the teachings from his first Video games, it would probably serve him nicely in 2025 and additional alongside within the Olympic quad. He was probably nearer to his targets on the 2024 Quick Course World Championship, taking fourth within the 50/100 freestyle. Because the Notre Dame males’s swimming group’s suspension, Guiliano has popped up at Texas to affect their dash squad, which presents one other massive studying alternative as he trains with Bob Bowman and one of the star-studded groups in america.
Learn the complete story on SwimSwam: SwimSwam’s High 100 For 2025: Males’s #41-50
