Which swimmer has won the most Olympic medals? Full list of winners
One country in particular has dominated the leaderboard when it comes to Olympic swimming.
One name comes to mind when talking about swimming in the Olympic Games: Michael Phelps is the undisputed greatest swimmer of all time and was the face of the sport for almost 20 years as he set record after record across the world.
His immense record is the envy of any olympian and his total number of medals may likely never be caught. However, Phelps is only one part of the story that has a wider reach than many may initially believe: the USA is in fact the dominant nation when it comes to swimming - and it’s not even close.
While there are German, Russian and Australian entrants on the all-time swimming list when it comes to Olympic medals, it’s the United States who have succeeded in making the sport their own.
.@MichaelPhelps opens up about his mental health journey and the steps he’s taken to raise awareness. #FallonTonight pic.twitter.com/1U52Rc8yoh
— The Tonight Show (@FallonTonight) May 10, 2024
Full list of top Olympic swimming medal winners
| Name | Gold | Silver | Bronze | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | Michael PHELPS (USA) | 23 | 3 | 2 | 28 |
| 2. | Mark SPITZ (USA) | 9 | 1 | 1 | 11 |
| 3. | Matt BIONDI (USA) | 8 | 2 | 1 | 11 |
| 4. | Caeleb DRESSEL (USA) | 8 | 0 | 0 | 8 |
| 5. | Ryan LOCHTE (USA) | 6 | 3 | 3 | 12 |
| 6. | Gary HALL JR (USA) | 5 | 3 | 2 | 10 |
| 7. | Ian THORPE (AUS) | 5 | 3 | 2 | 10 |
| 8. | Aaron PEIRSOL (USA) | 5 | 2 | 0 | 7 |
| 9. | Nathan ADRIAN (USA) | 5 | 1 | 2 | 8 |
| 10. | Tom JAGER (USA) | 5 | 1 | 1 | 7 |
| 11. | Don SCHOLLANDER (USA) | 5 | 1 | 0 | 6 |
| 12. | Johnny WEISSMULLER ((USA) | 5 | 0 | 0 | 5 |
| 13. | Alexander POPOV (RUS) | 4 | 5 | 0 | 9 |
| 14. | Roland MATTHES (GER) / Jason LEZAK (USA) | 4 | 2 | 2 | 8 |
Overall, as you can see, the United States have dominated the discipline of swimming when it comes to the Olympic Games. Caeleb Dressel hold the record for the 50m freestyle, with a time of 21.07.
China’s Pan Zhanle comes in next in the 100m with 46.40, which is also a world record time. Here is where Michael Phelps appears, with his 1:42.96 for the 200m freestyle. Sun Yang holds both the record for the 400m and 1500m, while Ireland’s Daniel Wiffen broke the 800m Olympic record just a few days ago.
Viewers in the United States will be able to watch Paris 2024 on NBC Olympics, Telemundo, Universo and Peacock, as well as NBC sister channels including CNBC, E! and USA Network. Aside from Peacock, your streaming options will include fuboTV, which offers users a free trial.
Stream the Olympics live on fuboTV. At AS USA, you’ll be able to follow a live blog with the latest medal count.
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