By James Sutherland on SwimSwam
After the record-setting year that was 2023, we’re gearing up for another exciting year over here at SwimSwam, and part of that is releasing our fourth annual Top 100 list—check out last year’s rankings here.
Similar to 2023, we’ve taken a statistically driven approach reliant primarily upon world rankings and World Championship medals. We’ve also taken into account things such as potential, Olympic medal opportunities, injuries, and versatility. Long course is weighted more than short course, though performance potential in both formats is factored in.
We’ve also moved Russian and Belarusian swimmers way down this list because of their likely absence from the Olympics or either World Championship meet. While that doesn’t preclude them from swimming fast at domestic meets (including whatever Russia comes up with to replace the Olympics), those swims just won’t mean quite as much without the international spotlight.
We’ll be breaking down the top 100 into multiple installments, so keep an eye out as they’re released.
These lists are, by nature, subjective. If you disagree, leave your thoughts/ranks in the comments.
Braden Keith, Sophie Kaufman, Anya Pelshaw and Mark Wild contributed to this report.
Women’s Rankings:
- #100 – #91
- #90 – #81
- #80 – 71
- #70 – 61
- #60 – 51
- #50 – #41
- #40 – #31
- #30 – #21
- #20 – #11
- #10 – #1
Young stars ready to take the next step and established veterans trying to hold their place among the sport’s elite feature in this tier, with two swimmers who could challenge for an Olympic medal but might not make it out of their national trials (individually) at the forefront.
#60: Laura Stephens, Great Britain – Like just about everyone else in the women’s 200 fly, Stephens’ best swim of 2:06.62 was done not at the World Championships. Her Olympic chances lie mainly in the 200, though she did swim 58.1 at British Trials last year in the 100 fly. The lack of domestic competition (though Emily Large is nipping at her heels) gives Stephens an easier path to Paris than, say, Dakota Luther or Tess Howley, and Stephens’ time is a bit faster as well. It’s splitting hairs, but Stephens has plenty of international experience under her belt, having finished in the top 10 at three consecutive World Championships in addition to the Tokyo Olympics, which could push her over the edge.
#59: Ye Shiwen, China – Now a grizzled veteran at 27, the 2012 Olympic double IM gold medalist is still in the mix in both the 200 breast (Asian Games gold, 2:23.84), and 200 IM (Asian Games silver, 2:10.34). Ye progressed a lot in both the 100 and 200 breaststrokes last year, landing at 1:07.34 and 2:22.44 (both at the Chinese National Championships), and she finaled at Worlds in the 200 IM, adding a bunch of time and placing 8th. Like many of the Chinese swimmers on this list, her ultimate ranking will depend on whether she hits in Paris or somewhere else.
#58: Airi Mitsui, Japan – Mitsui follows along with a big group of women in this 200 fly who were better *not at Worlds* than they were at Worlds. In fact, of the top 25 in the event, only two swam their best times at Worlds: the gold medalist Summer McIntosh (who ranked 2nd in the world) and 10th-ranked Helena Bach from Denmark (who ranked 10th in the world). Mitsui, 19, has as good of a chance as anybody to make this podium if any of the clear top three (McIntosh, Dekkers, Smith) falter.
#57: Ingrid Wilm, Canada – Wilm, one of the big revelations from the ISL, has been steady in her long course ascent. A 58.80 showing in the 100 back at the Canadian Trials last year showed that she’s ready to break through, and even with a half-second add at Worlds, she was still 5th. If the top three in the world (McKeown, Smith, and Berkoff) weren’t so good, her ranking would be higher. It’s going to be tough to drop enough for a medal, though.
#56: Jenna Strauch, Australia – Strauch is running headlong into the growing whirlwind that is the women’s 200 breaststroke. In 2022, she won a silver medal at Worlds in 2:23.04. That time may not final in Paris (even if the world record holder Evgeniia Chikunova doesn’t swim). After missing the 2023 World Championships with injury, though, she looks in very good form recently. Strauch went 2:22.8 at the Budapest World Cup in October, her 2nd-best time, just a few weeks back into competition, then 2:23.9 in December at the Queensland Champs. She hasn’t been as good in the 100 in her return, where the Aussie medley relay needs her the most, but she hasn’t been bad either – including 1:07.30 at the Queensland Championships.
#55: Mona McSharry, Ireland – McSharry ripped a 1:05.55 Irish Record in the prelims of the 100 breast at the World Championships, a time that ranked #7 in the world for 2023. She narrowly missed a medal in the final, but her prelims swim would have earned silver. A senior at the University of Tennessee, she’s scheduled to go to Worlds in 2024 even though it conflicts with the SEC Championships. The 100 breast is pretty much her only focus at the Olympics.
#54: Meg Harris, Australia – For almost any other nation, you could pencil Harris in as a contender for multiple individual top-five finishes at the Olympics. In Australia, though, she’s seen most of her recent international appointments come in relays. The good news is that she’s a good bet for two golds. With Emma McKeon‘s health problems lingering, could Harris, still only 21, breakthrough and steal a roster spot in the 50 or 100 free individually? If she does, she skyrockets at least 20 spots up these rankings.
#53: Lauren Cox, Great Britain – Cox, 22, made her World Championship debut last year and made it count with a bronze medal in the 50 back. In the Olympic 100-meter distance, she finished 10th in 59.79, also a personal best. In 2024, she’s going to have to go full-steam at that 100 to make a difference in Paris. She’ll also be at the 2024 Worlds in Doha where a title in the 50 is within reach.
#52: Freya Colbert, Great Britain – While one Freya (Anderson) stalls out, another (Colbert) enters the ring. She swam 1:56.16 in the 200 free at the World Championships last year and 4:06.80 in the 400 free. That was a yearly 1.7-second drop in the 200 and a 2.2-second drop in the 400. A true middle-distance swimmer, she doesn’t have nearly the same level of time in either the 100 or the 800 free, but she is also a 2:12.25/4:35.28 IMer. At 19, Colbert feels like the next big thing in British women’s swimming. With Amelie Blocksidge coming along too, the British women might be developing a golden generation like the men are sort of on the tail end of.
#51: Kennedy Noble, USA – A name many around the world might not know, but probably should, Kennedy Noble went big in 2023. Already a member of the U.S. team for Junior Pan Pacs, in a year she dropped four seconds off her best time in the 200 back to land at 2:06.54 and qualify for the Pan American Games team. She finished the year ranked 5th in the world. Training in one of the best backstroke groups in the world (Rhyan White and Katharine Berkoff on the women’s side alone) gives her the environment to continue that rise. It’s going to take an even better swim to make the U.S. Olympic Team in this event, but at least now she’s got her target, Rhyan White, in the same pool. For a second event, Noble also got as low as 59.11 in the 100 back, and had a nice 100 back in December at the U.S. Open as well (59.51, when she was only 2:10 in the 200). There’s a big pathway and an opportunity for her follow-up act if she can grab it.
You must be logged in to post a comment Login