Swimming
SPORTS
FASTEST LONG-COURSE
800 M FREESTYLE (FEMALE)
At Rio 2016 on 12 Aug, Katie Ledecky (USA) won
the 800 m in 8 min 4.79 sec. It was her fourth
gold medal and second world record at the
Games. On 7 Aug, Ledecky had won the 400 m
freestyle event in a time of 3 min 56.46 sec – the
fastest long-course 400 m freestyle (female).OLDEST OLYMPIC SWIMMING INDIVIDUAL
GOLD MEDALLIST
Anthony Ervin (USA, b. 26 May 1981) won Olympic
gold in the men’s 50 m freestyle aged 35 years
78 days at Rio 2016, on 12 Aug. Ervin won his
first gold at Sydney 2000, meaning that he also
holds the record for the longest time between
Olympic swimming individual gold medals –
15 years 325 days.MOST GOLD
MEDALS WON BY
A FEMALE AT THE
FINA WORLD CUP
Nicknamed the
“Iron Lady”, Katinka
Hosszú (HUN) won
225 gold medals
at the FINA World
Cup between 2012
and 2016. On 3 Aug
2015, Hosszú swam
the fastest long-
course 200 m
individual medley
(female) – 2 min
6.12 sec – at the FINA
World Championships
in Kazan, Russia.At the 1900 Paris Olympics, a men’s 200 m obstacle event
required swimmers to climb over poles and swim under boats.MOST GOLD MEDALS WON IN THE
FINA SWIMMING WORLD CUP (MALE)
Between 2009 and 2016, Chad le Clos (ZAF) amassed an
astonishing 116 gold medals at the Fédération Internationale
de Natation (FINA) World Cup. This is almost double his
closest rival, Roland Schoeman (ZAF), who has 64 golds.
Le Clos won two silvers at Rio 2016, and followed this
up on 8 Dec in Windsor, Canada, by setting the fastest
short-course 100 m butterfly: 48.08 sec.Fastest long-course
100 m breaststroke (male)
On 7 Aug 2016, Adam Peaty brought home the
UK’s first gold medal of the Yio Olympics in a
time of 57.13 sec. The breaststroke swimmer
had broken his own world record in the heats on
the previous day, before setting an even quicker
mark in the final.
Peaty also holds the title for the fastest
long-course 50 m breaststroke (male) –
26.42 sec, achieved at the FINA World Swimming
Championships in Kazan, Russia, on 4 Aug 2015.Fastest 100 m butterfly – S13 (female)
On 8 Sep, Rebecca Meyers (USA) won gold at
the 2016 Paralympics in 1 min 3.25 sec. Four
days later, Meyers, who has the rare genetic
disorder Usher syndrome, set two more records:
the fastest 200 m freestyle – S13 (female)- 2 min 7.64 sec – and the fastest 400 m
freestyle – S13 (female) – 4 min 19.59 sec.
Most swimming medals won at a Summer
Paralympics by an individual (male)
Daniel Dias (BRA) won 24 medals in swimming
events at the 2008, 2012 and 2016 Paralympic
Games – a total of 14 golds, seven silvers and
three bronzes. Born with malformed upper and
lower limbs, Dias only took up swimming at the
age of 16, learning four styles in just two months.Fastest long-course
100 m butterfly (female)
At Rio 2016, Sarah Sjöström claimed Sweden’s
first ever gold medal in a women’s swimming
event. S·ÏstrÏm won the final of the 100 m
butterĉy in 55.4Ư sec on Ʈ Aug.Fastest long-course
100 m backstroke (male)
On 13 Aug 2016, Ryan Murphy (USA) swam the
backstroke leg of the Olympic 4 x 100 m medley
relay final in 51.Ư5 sec. +is US team won gold.Fastest short-course
200 m breaststroke (male)
At the German Short Course Championships in
Berlin on 20 Nov 2016, Marco Koch (DEU) swam
the 200 m breaststroke in 2 min 0.44 sec. Koch
overcame the disappointment of Rio 20 16,
where he could only finish seventh in the 200 m
breaststroke final on 10 Aug.Fastest long-course
100 m freestyle (female)
On 2 Jul 2016, Cate Campbell (AUS) swam the
100 m in 52.06 sec at the Australia Grand Prix
in Brisbane, Australia. Campbell went on to
compete at Rio 2016, where she was part of the
Australian quartet who recorded the fastest
long-course 4 x 100 m freestyle relay
(female) – 3 min 30.65 sec. Her team-mates
were Emma McKeon, Brittany Elmslie and Cate’s
sister, Bronte Campbell (all AUS).Most silver medals awarded in
a single Olympic swimming race
+eld on 12 Aug 2016, the men’s 100 m butterĉy
final at the Yio Olympics was one of the
closest swimming events in the history of the
Games. Behind the winner, Singapore’s Joseph
Schooling, three swimmers tied for second place
in 51.14 sec: Michael Phelps (USA), Chad le Clos
(ZAF) and László Cseh (HUN).MOST OLYMPIC MEDALS WON
Michael Phelps (USA) retired after Rio 2016,
having become the most decorated athlete in
Olympic history. Over the course of four Games,
Phelps won 28 medals, 10 more than nearest
rival, gymnast Larisa Latynina (USSR/now UKR).
His record haul included 23 gold medals – the
most gold medals won at the Olympics.Q: How old was swimmer
Alzain Tareq at the 2015
FINA World Championships?
youngest A: 10 – making her the
ever in this eventcompetitor