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Post-Olympics Rankings: Swimming World’s Top 25 Female Performers BY DAVID RIEDER
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ith the Olympics just concluded, it seems only reasonable that the ranking of the best swimmers in the world should be based on the performances we witnessed over nine days in Tokyo. The Olympics are swimming’s apex, so Olympic success defines career résumés, and the athletes certainly deserve the opportunity to rest on their Olympic laurels for a while. So now that we have had some time to process the results of the Games, who are the top swimmers in the world? As usual, we will begin with the women, and the obvious candidates for the top five spots are the five swimmers who each won two individual gold medals in Tokyo. Coincidentally, three of those five swimmers are Australians, and they led Australia to a resurgent Olympics, so it should be no surprise to see a heavy Australian presence atop this list. Each of those five swimmers produced some magical, emotional moments at the Games, but based on a full body of work, including relays, there is an obvious choice for the top spot. 1. Emma McKeon, Australia Emma McKeon is not a new face to the international swimming scene. She has been on every Australian relay at an international meet since 2013! But only in recent years has she finally started to emerge as a renowned contender individually. She took bronze in the 200 freestyle at the 2016 Olympics, but her development in the 100 butterfly and, more recently, the 100 freestyle and 50 freestyle convinced McKeon to skip the 200-meter race for Tokyo. Instead, the 27-year-old McKeon took bronze in the 100 fly and then
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won gold medals in the 100 free and 50 free, swimming the second-fastest time ever in the 100 free and moving into the all-time top five in the other events. She was the strongest leg on gold-medal winning 400 free and 400 medley relays and provided important legs on 800 free and mixed 400 medley relays that each took bronze. McKeon won seven medals at the Olympics, more than any female swimmer at any Olympics ever. McKeon was the most valuable female swimmer of the Olympics, and she is the top female swimmer in the world. 2. Ariarne Titmus, Australia McKeon was dominant over the entirety of the Tokyo Olympics, but 20-year-old Ariarne Titmus got some consideration for the top spot since her performance in the 400 freestyle was the single best swim of any woman in Tokyo. Titmus stayed within range of world-record holder Katie Ledecky and then pulled ahead of her on the final two lengths, then held tough as Ledecky clawed back. It was an amazing race, and it took the second-fastest time ever for Titmus to win gold. She then won the 200 free in the thirdfastest swim in history and took silver behind Ledecky in the 800 while staying not very far behind. Titmus also led off Australia’s bronze-medal effort in the 800 free relay. 3. Kaylee McKeown, Australia It’s a clean sweep for the Aussies in the top three spots. Kaylee McKeown was not quite as sharp in Tokyo as she had been earlier in the year — when she broke the 100 backstroke world record and became the third-fastest swimmer ever in
