No. 8 on the list of the Top 10 Olympic Swimming Medalists Tom Jager was a pure sprinter who specialized in the 50-meter freestyle, where he broke six world records. Tom Jager won seven Olympic swimming medals, five of which were gold. All of his gold was obtained in relays. He earned three medals in the 1950s and two more in the 1960s.
No. 7 on the list of the Top 10 Olympic Swimming Medalists was Peter Vidmar. A powerful swimmer with an explosive start, he helped Australia win four silver medals and one bronze at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics. He also played a major role in producing one of the most memorable moments in Olympic history when he swam the anchor leg for Australia in the 4x100-metre freestyle relay that finished fourth behind America, Canada, and Japan.
Peter Vidmar's career best time is 51.02 in the 100-meter freestyle. The fastest man on the planet at the time was American Michael Phelps, who dominated the sport for several years after Vidmar retired from competition in 1997.
No. 6 on the list of the Top 10 Olympic Swimming Medalists was Duke Kahanamoku. One of the first modern day stars of the sport, Duke became famous around the world for his involvement in the 1920 Antwerp Games.
Michael Phelps, widely regarded as the greatest swimmer of all time, established 39 records during his illustrious career. He has been retired since 2016, and he currently only possesses four global records and four individual Olympic records. American swimmers have held the most world records with 78.
Phelps's former teammate Ryan Lochte has a total of 12 world records to her name. She has been retired for several years now but she still holds eight global records and four individual Olympic records from her career as a swimmer. Americans have also dominated the sport with 78 world records.
Phelps and Lochte are the only two athletes who have won multiple gold medals in both the Olympics and World Swimming Championships. Phelps is the winner of eight gold medals (one more than Lochte) across various events while Lochte defeated Phelps by winning one silver and one bronze medal at these competitions.
Both men had an incredible career as swimmers and they will always be remembered for their great achievements.
Phelps, Michael Michael Phelps is the most decorated Olympian in all time. Between 2004 and 2016, Phelps earned 28 swimming medals, breaking the previous American male record of 11 held by fellow swimmers Mark Spitz and Matt Biondi, as well as shooter Carl Osburn. The only other athlete to earn more than Phelps over that period was China's Liu Xiang with 12.
He won eight gold medals at Athens in 2004 and two more at Beijing in 2008. In total, he has 18 gold medals, which is also the highest number of any individual athlete at these games. He is the only person ever to have won a medal in each of the five events you can compete in in swimming: 100m butterfly, 200m individual medley, 400m individual medley, 800m freestyle, and 1500m freestyle.
At the 2012 London Olympics, Phelps became only the second man in history to win five consecutive gold medals when he captured his fifth title in the 500-meter freestyle. That year, he also became the first swimmer to win three different types of medals in one Olympics: gold, silver, and bronze.
Phelps' achievements have been recognized by many organizations. He has been named the best male swimmer of all time by the International Swimming Hall of Fame, and Sports Illustrated magazine ranked him number one on its list of "The All-Time Greatest Sporting Moments".
Swimming's top Olympic gold medalists are listed below.
| Name | Total | |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | Michael Phelps | 28 |
| 2. | Mark Spitz | 11 |
| 3. | Matt Biondi | 11 |
| 4. | Caeleb Dressel | 7 |
Swimming, on the other hand, is the only sport in which participants may win up to eight medals in a single Olympics. Michael Phelps of the United States set that record in Beijing in 2008, with all of his medals being gold, before finishing his career with an unrivaled 28 medals. That's more than any other athlete has ever won in a single event.
The number of possible swimming medals is infinite because there are an arbitrary but large number of places available for gold, silver, and bronze medals. For example, if we restrict ourselves to two-way races between two athletes or teams, then the number of possible swimming events is 216 (3 × 72). There are also three "honor" or "parallel" medal classes: 100m butterfly, 100m freestyle, and 200m individual medley. This means that there are potentially as many as 864 different outcomes for a single swimming event.
It might seem like a lot, but it's not hard to imagine some crazy scenario where this many different outcomes could happen. After all, there were more than one thousand athletes at these Games who competed in at least one event each. The most anyone has ever won at the same Olympics is nine medals total, which Andre Agassi and Andy Roddick did in 2004. And two people have won eight medals in swimming at one time. Michael Phelps did it in 2008 and Ruslan Nurudinov of Russia accomplished this feat in 1960.
Phelps, Michael Most people will be surprised to learn that we have named Phelps the best swimmer in the world. Phelps is most recognized for breaking the all-time record for the most Olympic gold medals, winning 22 in all. Phelps is currently regarded as the most well-known Olympic swimmer of all time. Phelps is also the world long course champion...
The other top name is Spitz, who has won nine gold medals. He is the most successful athlete of the modern era and one of the greatest ever. His achievements have never been equaled and it is unlikely they will be ever since swimming is popular worldwide.
Another famous name in swimming history is Hägar the Horrible. He was a Swedish swimmer who became famous during the 1920s and 1930s. Hägar made a name for himself by defeating many older opponents aged 25 or over. For example, at the 1936 Berlin Games he beat athletes who were between 30 and 44 years old. In addition, Hägar managed to win four gold medals and set three new records.
Finally, there is Van Cleef, who in 1991 became the first American male swimmer to win an individual gold medal at the Olympics after entering the event in 1948. He is also known for being one of the first Americans to train with World Class coaches in Italy. Today, he is a coach at his former club, Santa Clara University.
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