Ranking the Top-20 Men’s Swimmers in the World, Part I (16-20): Short Course World-Record Holders Stand Out

Rating the High-20 Males’s Swimmers within the World, Half I (16-20): Brief Course World-File Holders Stand Out

On the latest World Championships, swimmers competed for medals in 42 pool occasions, and the outcomes clearly present the most effective swimmer on the earth for every race. Evaluating swimmers throughout occasions is a subjective activity, with elements together with versatility, dominance, longevity, big-race efficiency and relay contributions all thought-about. With the summer season competitors season concluded, we are going to once more attempt to stack up the varied opponents from one by 20.

These rankings shall be primarily based largely on performances on the World Championships however outcomes from different meets shall be thought-about. Swimmers who sat out this yr’s main competitions is not going to be included on this listing.

Honorable Point out

Figuring out which swimmers ought to make the lower for the top-20 was a troublesome activity, and it required the omission of a number of sturdy candidates. That features junior-level standout breaststrokers Filip Nowacki and Shin Ohashi, who went 1-2 within the 100 and 200 breast on the latest World Junior Championships. Nowacki really swam sooner than the profitable time on the senior-level Worlds whereas Ohashi was simply off that point.

The puzzling Pan Zhanle didn’t make the lower just one yr after posting an otherworldly 100 freestyle world file of 46.40 on the Paris Olympics. This time, Pan didn’t qualify for any particular person finals at Worlds, though he did gather a relay silver. The opposite Olympic champion to fall off the listing is Dan Wiffen, the space swimmer who battled appendicitis previous to Singapore.

Ilya Kharun was barely left off regardless of profitable 100 fly bronze at Worlds. He fell off the rostrum within the 200 fly and missed the 50 fly remaining regardless of getting into the meet with the world’s quickest time. Miron Lifintsev was the leadoff backstroker on two gold-medal-winning medley relays for the impartial athletes (combined and males’s), and his greatest 100 again leadoff would have been the second-fastest time ever, though it was unofficial because it got here in a mixed-gender occasion. If Lifintsev can deliver that velocity to particular person occasions, he shall be a part of future rankings of the top-20.

American Shaine Casas was lower regardless of his outstanding efficiency within the 200 IM at Worlds, the place a time of 1:54.30 made him the fourth-fastest performer in historical past and simply off Ryan Lochte’s world file from previous to the meet. However Casas was baffling in his different occasions, failing to make it out of prelims within the 100 butterfly or 50 backstroke and shedding his spot on the U.S. males’s 400 medley relay.

There was additionally no room on the listing for France’s Yohann Ndoye-Brouard, who boosted his international standing tremendously with a pair of bronze medals within the 100 and 200 again in Singapore. Ndoye-Brouard stuffed out the quickest podiums ever in each occasions as he broke 52 within the 100-meter occasion and swam below 1:55 for the primary time within the 200.

20. Nicolo Martinenghi, Italy

Narrowly making the lower for the top-20 is an Italian breaststroker who has been among the many world’s most constant swimmers within the final half-decade. Martinenghi gained his first Olympic medal within the 100-meter race in Tokyo, and he has not missed a serious podium within the occasion since, wracking up three medals on the Olympics, eight on the lengthy course World Championships and 10 on the 25-meter version of the worldwide meet. His profession spotlight got here final yr in Paris, when he took down the likes of Adam Peaty, Nic Fink and Qin Haiyang to win Olympic gold.

This yr was not his best however nonetheless loads stable, with the 26-year-old remaining entrenched among the many world’s elite within the 100 breast. Within the World Championship remaining, Martinenghi had the lead many of the race, and despite the fact that he couldn’t maintain off Qin down the stretch, he nonetheless clocked 58.58 for a silver medal. Notably, his time was virtually a half-second forward of the mark which he swam to win Olympic gold. Martinenghi virtually gained a second medal due to his sturdy breaststroke leg on Italy’s 400 medley relay, just for the American staff to complete a tenth forward.

19. Simone Cerasuolo, Italy

Simone Cerasuolo — Picture Courtesy: Emily Cameron

Sure, two consecutive Italian breaststrokers, albeit from very completely different background. The 23-year-old Cerasuolo has by no means raced on the Olympics, along with his specialty 50-meter race by no means beforehand included in this system (that may change in 2028). Previous to this yr, his prime profession accomplishments had are available in 2022, when he gained silver on the European Championships within the 50 breast and bronze in the identical occasion on the Brief Course World Championships.

Cerasuolo was not even a lock to signify Italy within the 50 breast at Worlds, with Martinenghi all the time a contender within the occasion and Ludovico Viberti swimming the world’s quickest time within the occasion in June. However Cerasuolo had a lane in Singapore and took full benefit, securing a shock gold medal. His profitable time within the remaining was not the quickest on the earth this yr, not his quickest time of the meet and slower than the top-qualifying mark out of each prelims and semifinals, nevertheless it was ok for gold, and coming by within the massive moments counts right here.

18. Sam Brief, Australia

Sam Brief — Picture Courtesy: Delly Carr / Swimming Australia

He was among the best distance swimmers on the earth in 2023, capturing the world title within the 400 free plus international medals within the 800 and 1500, however Brief had a disappointing Olympic debut in Paris. In his first Olympic remaining, he missed the 400 free podium by 0.14, and he was locked out of the top-eight in each longer races. However his return to international competitors this yr would deliver important enchancment as Brief put a scare into the person who has established himself because the world’s superior 400 freestyler over the previous two years.

Within the opening remaining in Singapore, it was virtually not possible to separate Brief and Lukas Martens within the males’s 400 free. Brief led for almost all of the race’s again half, just for Martens to shut a pair ticks faster to complete two hundredths forward. Brief ended up with silver, along with his prelims time of three:42.07 the quickest of the meet. After the 400, Brief would win no additional medals, with a gastrointestinal sickness forcing him out of the 800 free remaining earlier than he rebounded to position fourth within the 1500.

17. Luke Hobson, United States

Luke Hobson — Picture Courtesy: Emily Cameron

The U.S. males’s staff has struggled in worldwide waters lately, with simply six particular person medals on the Paris Olympics and once more at this yr’s World Championships. However Hobson is doing his half, rapidly constructing a monitor file as America’s most profitable 200 freestyler of the twenty first century other than Michael Phelps. Hobson first reached the worldwide podium final yr, with a bronze on the Doha World Championships and one other on the Paris Olympics, and he added a brief course world title and world file within the 200 free in December. This yr, he took a major step ahead.

Hobson placed on a present in his signature occasion at U.S. Nationals, clocking 1:43.73 to change into the fifth-fastest performer ever within the occasion. In late July, he set out in pursuit of a world title and almost acquired it, solely to search out himself on the receiving finish of David Popovici’s patented ending surge. Nonetheless, Hobson acquired below 1:44 once more on the way in which to silver. Later within the meet, the American males missed the rostrum within the 800 free relay, however Hobson did his half, splitting 1:43.45 to maneuver the People from sixth place right into a short-lived lead.

16. Noè Ponti, Switzerland

Noè Ponti — Picture Courtesy: Andrea Staccioli / Deepbluemedia / Insidefoto

If this listing had been primarily based solely on brief course outcomes, Ponti would undoubtedly rank a lot increased after his sensational brief course performances final fall. In lower than two months, Ponti blasted the 50 butterfly world file 4 occasions, knocking greater than 4 tenths off the world file in whole. His final file in that occasion got here on the Brief Course World Championships in Budapest, the place he additionally knocked off a Caeleb Dressel world file within the 100 fly and secured a further gold within the 100 IM.

In lengthy course, Ponti returned to the global-level podium in lengthy course for the primary time in 4 years. He was a digital unknown again on the Tokyo Olympics when he joined legends Caeleb Dressel and Kristof Milak as medalists within the 100 fly. This time, he was surpassed solely by Maxime Grousset within the dash fly occasions in Singapore. Within the one-lap race, Ponti got here in solely three hundredths away from gold whereas turning into the fifth-fastest man in historical past, and his time of 49.83 within the 100 was additionally good for No. 5 on the all-time listing.