Swimming is one of the fastest-growing sports in the United States! These Olympic swimmers are the best of the best. During the Summer Olympics, they won the most medals for their country. Here are the top 5 American Olympic Swimmers!
The Top Olympic Swimmers of All Time are:
1. Michael Phelps
Michael Phelps has plenty of brag about as the most decorated Olympian of all time! He has won a total of 28 medals throughout his career.
During the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio, Phelps won five gold medals and one silver. Phelps also holds the long course world records in the 100-meter butterfly, 200-meter butterfly and 400-meter individual medley.
Throughout his career, he has won a total of 83 medals in major international long-course competitions. The totals include: 66 gold, 14 silver and 3 bronze in Olympic Games, the World Championships and the Pan Pacific Championships.
Phelps has been named World Swimmer of the Year seven times and American Swimmer of the Year nine times as well as the FINA Swimmer of the Year in 2012.
2. Katie Ledecky
In her international debut at the 2012 Olympics at 15 years old, Ledecky won the gold medal in the women’s 800-meter freestyle. At the Rio 2016 Olympics, she became the first woman since 1968 to win gold in the 200m, 400m and 800m freestyles in the same Olympics
She tied with gymnast Simone Biles as the most decorated female athlete in Rio. Ledecky was just behind Michael Phelps when it came to the most medals among all Americans competing.
Ledecky has won 38 medals, 30 gold, seven silvers and one bronze in major international competitions such as the Summer Olympics, the World Championships and the Pan Pacific Championships. She has also broken 13 world records.
Her success has earned her Swimming World’s World Swimmer of the Year and American Swimmer of the Year awards in 2013, 2014 and 2015. She also earned the title of FINA Swimmer of the Year in 2014. In 2016, Ledecky was the youngest person on Time Magazine’s Time 100 list.
3. Mark Spitz
Mark Spitz is a former competitive swimmer who broke records during the 1972 Munich Olympic Games.
He became the first athlete to win seven gold medals in the Olympics. Michael Phelps is the only one who has matched this feat.
At the 1972 Olympics, Spitz won gold in the 100 and 200-meter freestyle. He was also able to win the 100 and 200-meter butterfly and three relay races.
At the 1968 and 1972 Games, Spitz set 33 world records. He was named “World Swimmer of the Year” three times.
4. Matthew Biondi
Matthew Biondi competed in the 1984, 1988 and 1992 Olympic Games and won 11 medals (eight gold, two silver and one bronze).
Additionally, Biondi set three individual world records in the 50-meter freestyle and four in the 100–meter freestyle.
At the 1988 Olympic Games in Seoul, Biondi won five gold medals, and set world records in the 50-meter freestyle and three relay events.
His accomplishments have not gone unnoticed. Biondi is a member of the International Swimming Hall of Fame and the United States Olympic Hall of Fame.
5. Ryan Lochte
Ryan Lochte is a 12-time Olympic medalist. He is second in U.S. men’s swimming after Phelps.
He holds the world records in the 4×200-meter freestyle relay, 100-meter individual medley, 200-meter individual medley and 400-meter individual medley.
Lochte has earned the World Swimmer of the Year Award and the American Swimmer of the Year Award twice. He has also been named the FINA Swimmer of the Year three times.
He’s won a total of 90 medals in major international competitions. That’s 54 gold, 22 silver and 14 bronze spanning the Olympics, World Championships, Pan American Games and Pan Pacific Championships, respectively.
