Top 51 Swimmers of 2011 - 21 to 11

As another year of great swimming comes to a close, here is a rundown of the Top 51 Swimmers of 2011. There is no set criteria, but clearly the World Championships in Shanghai carried a big weight in the decision making process. That being said, outstanding achievements away from Shanghai were still acknowledged.


Thanks for reading Speed Endurance this year. Next year should be something a bit special!


Here is the rundown from 21 to 11.

21. Zhao Jing – 2011 Highlight – Winning one of the most exciting races at Worlds, the 100m Back, in 59.05

Zhao Jing produced her best swim of the year at exactly the right time. She added the world title to her Asian Games gold from 2010 and has topped the world rankings in each of the last two years. She beat Zueva by the slimmest of margins, but goes into 2012 with a great couple of years behind her. The world now waits to see the impact Missy Franklin will have on the event.

20. Daniel Gyurta – 2011 Highlight – Making up a deficit of half a second on the last 50m to win the 200m Breast in Shanghai (2:08.41)

Gyurta once again was under the radar for most of the year before producing the goods when it mattered the most. Trailing Kosuke Kitajima at 150m, he used his trademark strong finish to win gold. He ended the year with a textile best time and 3rd fastest swim in history in the short course 200m Breast (2:02.37) at Euro SC. He couldn’t produce the same time a week later when he raced Brendan Hansen at Duel in the Pool, but that doesn’t change how strong a year Gyurta had.

19. Jiao Liuyang – 2011 Highlight – Hanging on to win the 200m Fly in Shanghai in a time of 2:05.55, with a winning margin of just 0.04

Jiao Liuyang was involved in the two best 200m Fly races of 2011. At Chinese Nationals she finished second in an incredible time of 2:04.44, just 0.04 behind Liu Zige. However, Jiao Liuyang turned the tables on her team mate in Shanghai winning the world title with Liu Zige back in 3rd. As we enter the Olympic year, the Chinese-British battle for the 200m Fly title should be great. After a dominant 2010 and a world title in 2011, the favourite at this stage has to be Jiao Liuyang.

18. Therese Alshammar – Winning gold in the 50m Free in Shanghai (24.14)

The Swedish sprint queen became the oldest woman to win an individual world title this year and did it in style. Her time of 24.14 was the 14th fastest in the history of the event and missed Inge de Bruijn’s textile best time by just 0.01. She appeared to be an absolute lock to win the 50m Fly as well but ended up with silver in Shanghai. In June she swam the 4th fastest time ever in the event and broke her own textile best time. She also finished the year with 6 of the world’s top 8 times in the 50m Fly.

16= Camille Lacourt – 2011 Highlight – Winning gold alongside team mate Jeremy Stravius in the 100m Back.

Lacourt did not have a great competition in Shanghai, despite winning gold in the 100m Back and silver in the 50m Back. He was down on his times from French Nationals in March which still top the world rankings (24.36 and 52.44). Despite the shared gold, Lacourt remains a considerable margin ahead of the rest of the world in the 100m Back. A real shame France missed the 4 x 100 medley relay final to give Lacourt another chance at putting down a quick time in Shanghai.

16= Jeremy Stravius – 2011 Highlight - Winning gold alongside team mate Camille Lacourt in the 100m Back.

Stravius was a model of consistency in Shanghai, matching his semi final time in the final exactly. He also came through for the French freestyle relays in a big way. His splits of 47.78 and 1:45.40 contributed hugely to the France winning two silvers in those races. A strong candidate for breakthrough swimmer of 2011.

15. Park Tae-Hwan – 2011 Highlight – Winning a loaded 400m Free final in Shanghai (3:42.04)

Park Tae-Hwan chose a good time to come up with his fastest 400m Free of 2011. Facing the heavily favoured Sun Yang, he led from the gun and controlled the entire race. The victory gave Park his second world title in the 400m Free to go alongside his Olympic victory from 2008. He just missed out on a medal in the 200m Free (0.04 behind Paul Biedermann) and reached the semi final of the 100m Free. He was slightly down on his stellar times from 2010 and will likely need to be able to break the world record in London if he wants to beat Sun Yang.

14. Elizabeth Beisel – 2011 Highlight – Blowing away the field in the 400m IM final in a new textile best time of 4:31.78.

Beisel has single handedly raised the bar in the 400m IM with her textile best time. She now owns the 10th fastest swim of all time in the event and broke Katie Hoff’s textile record by over a second. Strong on all strokes, she has a world class backstroke that can either catch or break the field. There is no shortage of talent in the 400m IM, but Beisel stands above them all right now.

13. Lotte Friis – 2011 Highlight – Missing the short course world record in the 800m Free by just 0.24 seconds. Her time was 8:04.77.

In 2011 Friis confirmed her status as the second best distance Freestyler in the world. She led the 800m Free in Shanghai for 750m, before seeing Rebecca Adlington go past her. She then followed that up with victory in the 1500m Free. She also finished 5th in the 400m Free final. Her short course season was spectacular with a 3:58.02 400m Free to go alongside her 8:04.77. Her continued improvement and strong finish to the year will make all British swimming fans nervous. Friis is a very real threat to spoil the British party.

12. Cesar Cielo – 2011 Highlight – Dominating the 50m Free final in Shanghai, winning in 21.52.

What a year for Cielo. After all the trials and tribulations pre-Shanghai, it was to his credit that he was able to produce the goods. He returned home with gold in the 50m Free and 50m Fly and a 4th place finish in the 100m Free (missing bronze by 0.01). If the 100m Free final was a disappointment, he made up for it at the Pan American Games with a 47.84 effort. He has some work to do to catch James Magnussen, but he appears to be the guy best placed to do it.

11. Ye Shiwen – 2011 Highlight – Her stunning last 50m to win the 200 IM on home soil (2:08.90).

Ye Shiwen is still only 15 years old, but has proven to be a big time swimmer in major competitions so far. Her victory in the 200m IM was sensational. Turning fifth at 150m, she was the only swimmer in the field to break 30 seconds on the way home with a 29.42 split. To beat a field including Ariana Kukors, Alicia Coutts, Steph Rice, Katinka Hosszu, Hannah Miley and Caitlin Leverenz is no mean feat. She finished fifth in the 400m IM final, but has since moved up to second in the world rankings with a 4:33.66 effort in October. If she is close at the final turn of either the 200m IM or 400m IM in London, you would have to favour her for the win.