Expert Poll: Top 10 Swimmers of 2012

This year we decided to widen the net with the Top 10 list and drafted in some expert knowledge from the swimming community to give their own Top 10 Swimmers of 2012. The swimmers have been ordered by the composite ranking from the six separate Top 10 votes. You can find each expert's reasoning for their picks below the table. The Speed Endurance Top 10 of 2012 and justification for each pick can be found here.

Sander Smordal - TV2.no / Simma.nu / Speed Endurance (Norway)



1. Sun Yang, CHN


The Chinese superfreak seams to be made for distance (pool-)swimming. The way he composes his races, and the way he swims – it just looks so natural. Add that to a World record and two individual golds at the Olympics and you have the swimmer of the year. Was anyone as untouchable as him? Hardly.

2. Missy Franklin, USA

Dubbed the female Phelps you would expect nothing less than greatness, and after four golds and a bronze medal at the Olympics you can do nothing but applaud. Impressive performance.

3. Michael Phelps, USA

The only thing keeping Michael Phelps from going higher on the list is… Michael Phelps. He’s set the standard of performance at such a level that two individual gold medals just seems sub-par. Being beat in his signature event also prevents him from going higher.

4. Shiwen Ye, CHN

It might be that my sympathies towards this girl are so strong that they propel her higher up on the list – but her dominating performance in the 400 IM and another gold on the shorter IM-event speak for themselves. No person who performs deserve the kind of attention she got – just because she swam well, and some others from her country have doped in the past.

5. Ranomi Kromwidjojo, NED

Totally dominant in the most prestigious events at the Olympics, Ranomi Kromowidjojo truly is the fastest female in water right now – and should be lauded for it!

6. Ryan Lochte, USA

Another one whose own potential and proven ability limits how his season is regarded, but as somewhat of a short course specialist myself his performances in Istanbul should not be disregarded. By the way – he won an Olympic gold in the 400 IM…

7. Yannik Agnel, FRA

His performance in the 200 meters freestyle at the Olympics was dominant powerful and impressive. Agnel took the step up to ultimate international top class as a swimmer this year – and his 400 freestyle SC record was a nice bonus as well.

8. Camille Muffat, FRA

I must say, judging by the lead up to the Games I was expecting the French girl to win both the 200 and 400 meter freestyle, but it was not to be. Allison Schmitt (200-champion) was close to getting into my top 10 list, but overall I feel Muffat during the year thrilled us more often than Schmitt.

9. Ruta Meilutyte, LTU

Who doesn’t love a good surprise? The biggest surprise of the games, alongside Katie Ledecky. Meilutyte gets the nod due to the fact she has proven herself also on the short course.

10. Daniel Gyurta, HUN, and Cameron van der Burgh, RSA

This place probably with my heart more than my head – but a split for tenth between the two breaststroke champions of the Olympics. Not only did they perform magnificently, they did it with dignity and respect for a lost competitor and friend.

Ricki Clausen - Simma.nu (Denmark)




1. Ryan Lochte

For winning numerous medals at the Olympics – again – and for finishing the season off with double (and incredible) world records in 100 and 200 IM at world short course. Supreme swimming skills, impressive physique in every way, seems like a very nice and forthcoming person and he has attitude! He is the moneymaker of international swimming – the first real one in my lifetime. I hope he makes it really big financially also! I mean in a golf and tennis sort of way. He could lead the path for others.

2.       Missy Franklin

For winning 5 medals at Olympics – including double individual gold in the backstroke. 17 years old and already a super star of international swimming. And as with Lochte she seems so nice and forthcoming and just seems to be enjoying herself. Impressive run at the Olympics – especially winning the 100 back after having had trouble in that race for a few months (since trials). On an end note: Turning down millions to be part of a college team instills some belief in the purity and nobility of sports.

3.       Shiwen Ye

The chinese swimmer impressed me and others with her impressive win in both the 200 and 400 IM. She has been on the world stage for some years even though she is only 16. Most of all she kept her cool after winning 400 IM and being accused of doping and still managed to win the 200 IM later at the meet. The doping allegations after her 400 IM (from people that think Kate Ledeckys 800 free improvement the last year is just “impressive”!) cannot other than make me shameful of the politics we still have to endure. When a Chinese girl improves a lot we shout “Doping” but when an even younger American improves even more it is “Impressive”. It makes me sick. If you accuse one of them you MUST accuse them both. Or you keep your mouths shut!

4.       Sun Yang

Impressive swimming on 200, 400 and 1500 free. Very versatile and extremely focused – the 1500 free world record on the last day of a demanding Olympic games shows his focus and dedication. The undisputed star of Chinese swimming.

5.       Michael Phelps

For turning up without the optimal preparation and winning more Olympic gold medals. If he hadn’t won 8 golds four years ago I probably would have put him higher. But you cannot get higher on my list when you deliver sub-par compared to your potential – even though your results are still impressive.

6.       Ranomi Kromowidjojo

For winning two of the toughest races (ie. Two of the races with the most fierce competition) at the olympics following injury and problems the previous season.

7.       Daniel Gyurta

Undefeated in 200 breast long course for 3 years now. A magnificently hard and difficult race – probably the most specialized race of them all. World record when he needed it most: In the final of the Olympics under the biggest pressure he has been on for three years. Silver at 14 and gold at 22. Impressive!

8.       Yannick Agnel 

For winning the 200 free at Olympics and setting a world record in the 400 freestyle short course. Seldom to see world records these days when you disregard the Americans of cause.

9.       Katinka Hosszu

Not everything this year in swimming was the Olympics. Didn’t have the best Olympics but won 34 races at the world cup. Come on. 34 races. And then winning numerous medals at the world short course – including gold in the 200 fly and the 100 IM.

10.   Chad Le Clos

For the biggest upset of the Olympic games. Period.

Braden Keith - SwimSwam (USA)

1.       Sun Yang

It seems a travesty not to give the honor to Mr. Phelps in his final year, but the numbers just don’t see it that way. Both swimmers won the same number of individual medals (even though Phelps had more thanks to better relays), but Yang took this with records. He crushed the World Record in the 1500 by three seconds, and also broke the Olympic Record in the 400. The only record of note that we saw from Phelps was the Pool Record at UT in the 200 fly.

2.       Michael Phelps

He certainly made his last year count, going out with 4 gold and 2 silver medals, including a phenomenal split on the 400 free relay (even though it only went for a runner-up finish for the United States). He was back and he was focused, with an upset in the 200 fly to Chad le Clos the only disappointment on his otherwise-sterling 2012 resume. If he finds a way to get his fingertips to the wall first yet again in that race, he’s probably #1 on my list.

3.       Missy Franklin

Franklin set a new precedent in American women’s swimming by taking on 7 events at the 2012 Olympics. She walked away with 4 gold medals, one bronze, 5 American Records, 2 World Records, and the hearts of American fans. Then she proceeded to declare that she’s passing up millions to swim two years in college, and had the first-ever NCAA recruitment that received national media attention. Bags full of money will be waiting at the finish of the 400 free relay at the 2015 NCAA Championships, because this girl is major.

4.       Shiwen Ye

A pair of Olympic gold medals, including an unreal World Record swim in the 400 IM were the highlights of Ye’s year. She was pretty quiet otherwise (though a gold in the 200 IM at Short Course Worlds were a nice accent at year’s end). What’s really admirable is that the 16-year old was able to stand up for herself against the shouting and barking of a certain American swim coach who accused her of cheating without any real evidence. That’s impressive maturity.

5.       Ryan Lochte

He probably didn’t have the Olympics that he, or anyone else, expected or hoped for. He still won a big 400 IM among 5 total medals, and dominated the World Short Course Championships to the tune of 6 gold medals, 8 total medals, and two World Records – jammed into 5 days. That’s a heck of a run.

6.       Dana Vollmer

Vollmer was a perfect three-for-three in gold medals at the 2012 Olympics, including being the first woman under 56 seconds in the 100 fly. She really did work in 2012 – she was determined that she would go absolutely all-out on the front-half of that 100 fly and find a way to finish it; she worked on it, and worked on it, and worked on it, until it finally all came together in her very last attempt: the Olympic final.  

7.       Allison Schmitt

The way that “Schmitty” put her season together was impressive. She not only excelled in the middle distance (Olympic gold and American Record in the 200, silver and American Record in the 400), but she really worked hard to make herself an indispensable relay swimmer, and she was rewarded by anchoring all three American relays in London.

8.       Yannick Agnel

Agnel took a shocking leap in 2012, after dropping the 400 free. He became one of the best 100 freestylers in the world, and knocked off an impressive field to win gold in the 200 free. Maybe most importantly for the French, he erased four-years of heartache from the Americans when he put up a huge anchor to lead his 400 free relay to a victory at the Games. That was a legendary swim.

9.       Camille Muffat

Muffat set a new bar in middle-distance freestyles. No, she did not break a World Record in long course (yet), but she was knocking them out left-and-right in short course and still took Olympic gold in the 400. The way she swam in 2012 indicates that she might do something scary in 2013. She also took the French women to new heights, leading their 800 free relay to an Olympic bronze – their first ever medal in a relay.

10.   Chad le Clos

True, he only won two medals (one gold, one silver). True he dropped out early from the World Cup and similarly only two at Short Course Worlds (gold in the 100 fly, silver in the 50). The numbers don’t stack up to much of the top 10, but he did something nobody has done in more roughly a decade: he beat Michael Phelps in a 200 fly that counted. That’s huge, and he instantly joined swimming’s royalty.

Jeff Commings - Swimming World (USA)

1. Missy Franklin

An Olympic debut that continues to amaze. That 200 free-100 back double was mind-blowing.

2. Michael Phelps

The definition of determination. From a dismal start to a rousing finish, not only to the 2012 Olympics, but to an amazing career.

3. Sun Yang

I get goosebumps when I think about how much faster he can go. 14:29 in the mile? Possibly. 3:39 in the 400 free? Likely. He’ll need to stop doing those triple breaths off the turns.

4. Chad Le Clos

The first man to beat Michael Phelps in the 200 fly in a major meet in more than a decade. And he backed it up with a great 100 fly.

5. Rebecca Soni

After four years without a best time in their favorite event, Soni finally broke through the 2:20 barrier in the 200 breast.

6. Dana Vollmer

Persistence at its best.

7. Ye Shiwen

Poise under fire at 16 years old. She’ll need to back up her Olympic wins this year at worlds in order to silence the critics.

8. Nathan Adrian

Dropping five tenths in the 100 free at the elite level is rare, and Adrian did it at the right time, taking down the presumptive king of the event in London.

9. Ous Mellouli

The first person to win Olympic medals in the pool and open water in the same year. He’d been mostly written off before London, but came through when it mattered.

10. Akihiro Yamaguchi. 

His world record in the 200 breast signaled that Japanese breaststroke does not begin and end with Kosuke Kitajima.

Sebastian Schwenke - swimsportnews (Germany)

1. Michael Phelps

- for once again being the most successful athlete at the olympic games
- for breaking the momentum after finishing fourth in the 400m IM, missing gold in the 200m fly and 400m free relay on the first days of the olympics

2. Yannick Agnel

- for not just beating 2008 Olympic silver medalist Park Tae Hwan, double Olympic champion Sun Yang, world champion Ryan Lochte and world record holder Paul Biedermann in the 200m free at the Olympics, but also making it look THAT easy
- for breaking the world record in the 400m free short course

3. Missy Franklin

- for being the most successful female athlete at the London Olympics by the age of just 17

4. Ruta Meilutyte

- for delivering one of the biggest surprises at the Olympics, beating superstar Rebecca Soni in the 100m breaststroke
- for proving that she's not just a flash in the pan by winning the 100m breaststroke at the Istanbul Short Course World Championships

5. Sun Yang

- for winning two gold, one silver and one bronze medal at the Olympics, breaking the 1500m world record by over 3 seconds and becoming the most successful Chinese male swimmer in Olympic history

6. Oussama Mellouli

- for medaling at pool and Open Water in London and beating the Open Water specialists in the 10km marathon

7. Camille Muffat

- for winning a medal of each color at the Olympics
- for breaking the 400 and 800m free world record (short course)

8. Ranomi Kromowidjojo

- for officially becoming the best female freestyle sprinter in the world (finally!)) by winning the 50 and 100m free at the Olympics

9. Chad le Clos

- for breaking Michael Phelps' dominance in the 200m fly and touching him out by only 5/100 of a second

10.Ye Shiwen

- for demolishing the 400 IM world record and winning gold in the 200 IM as well

Top 50 Swimmers of 2012 - 50 to 41

The second annual Speed Endurance Top 50 Swimmers of the Year is upon us. There is no set-in-stone criteria, but as you would expect, this year the Olympic Games carried the most weight in the decision making process. Other outstanding achievements away from London were also acknowledged, but it took an extraordinary feat to better an Olympic medallist. Also worth noting, relay medals were not valued highly, however race-changing relay contributions were.

Thanks for reading Speed Endurance in 2012, we look forward to welcoming you back next year. Let's get this list started...

50. Brendan Hansen - 2012 Highlight - Exacting revenge on long-time arch rival Kosuke Kitajima to win bronze in the 100 breaststroke in London

While some of his breaststroke rivals were under-performing in London, Hansen saved the best swim of his superb comeback to the sport for the Olympic final. Hansen's bronze medal winning time, 59.49, was the exact same time that Cameron van der Burgh (who will feature higher up this list) swam in Shanghai at Worlds last year to also win bronze. Repetitive numbers were a theme for Hansen this year as his wife gave birth to a baby girl on 12-12-12. Hansen also swam a sharp 59.19 breaststroke relay leg as part of the gold medal winning USA medley relay team.

49. Oussama Mellouli - 2012 Highlight - For the sake of this list (pool accomplishments only), Mellouli's highlight was his hard earned bronze medal in the 1500 freestyle in London.

Despite losing his Olympic crown to Sun Yang, Mellouli actually swam faster in London than he did in Beijing four years earlier. Finishing a full 10 seconds ahead of fourth placed Park Tae Hwan, Mellouli confirmed his status as one of the great distance freestyle swimmers the sport has seen. Had he taken part in the 400 freestyle, he would have had a great shot at the bronze medal... and a sizeable jump up this list.

48. Yulia Efimova - 2012 Highlight - Winning bronze in the Olympic 200 breaststroke final, the fastest women's 200 breaststroke final of all-time.

Efimova, along with Satomi Suzuki (silver), made the 200 breaststroke final a lot closer than many had expected it to be. While Rebecca Soni was setting a new world record, Efimova had the fastest closing 50m leg of the entire final to win bronze and set a new European record of 2:20.92. Efimova's closing 50m was enough to just push Denmark's Rikke Moller Pedersen, 4th in London and World SC champion, out of the Top 50 and onto the bubble. A disappointing 7th in the 100 breaststroke halted Efimova's rise further up the list.

47. Aya Terakawa - 2012 Highlight -  Securing the bronze medal in the 100 backstroke in London, one of the most hotly contested finals on the women's side

At the age of 28, Terakawa finally won a medal at a major global championships. A model of consistent swimming for years, she was able to save her fastest swim of the year for when it mattered the most. Swimming 59.3 or quicker 6 times in 2012, she also set up the Japanese women's bronze medal winning 4x100 Medley relay team with a great lead-off leg.

46. Cesar Cielo - 2012 Highlight - 21.38 in the 50 freestyle at the Maria Lenk Trophy in April. A new textile best time for the Brazilan superstar.

I've chosen Cielo's highlight of the year as his lightning fast swim from the Maria Lenk Trophy, rather than his bronze medal in the 50 free in London. Although the medal was one of only two Brazilian medals from London, Cielo would have hoped for a shinier colour. Having been the dominant sprinter for the last Olympic cycle, he didn't get it right in the Olympic final finishing in 21.59. He does end the year ranked second in the world, just 0.04 behind Florent Manaudou's textile best time from London. Cielo will need to produce something special in 2013 to regain his sprint dominance with Manaudou (and if Istanbul is anything to go by, Morozov) ready to take over. Cesão will turn 26 in January, he's got a lot of years left in the tank. The emerging competition in the men's 50 free makes it one of the most fascinating events in swimming right now.

45. Yevgeny Korotyshkin - 2012 Highlight - From lane 8 in the 100 butterfly final, finishing with a joint second place finish with Chad le Clos

During the 100 fly final in London, all eyes were focused on lanes 4 and 5 (Phelps and le Clos), with some added spice coming from early leader Milorad Cavic (lane 6) and Tyler McGill (lane 3). After qualifying eighth for the 100 fly final, Korotyshkin executed his race perfectly. He turned in fourth, ahead of Phelps and le Clos, but as the rest of the field dropped back, the Russian showed great strength on the final 50m. Only Phelps got past the veteran Russian flyer. Undoubtedly McGill and Cavic underperformed in the final, but when you are just 0.23 seconds behind Michael Phelps, and tie with Chad le Clos, both of whom will feature much higher in this list, you've done well. Korotyshkin finished the year by becoming European SC champion in the 100 fly.

44. Katinka Hosszu - 2012 Highlight - Cashing in the $100,000 cheque for winning the Top Female award on the FINA World Cup circuit

Hosszu had a disappointing Olympic games. Her best result came in the 400 IM when she finished 4th, however the time she swam at the Indianapolis Grand Prix in March would have been good enough for bronze (the same could also be said for Hannah Miley and her time from GB trials). She then finished 8th in the 200 IM, 3 seconds adrift of the rest of the field and failed to qualify for the 200 butterfly final. The Olympics were an unfortunate aberration in an otherwise stupendous year. She was USC's star performer at NCAAs, a triple European LC and SC champion and the star of the World Cup meets. The pinnacle of her year came at the recent World SC when she set a new meet record of 2:02.20 in the 200 butterfly, beating Olympic champion Jiao Liuyang in the process.

43. Melanie Schlanger - 2012 Highlight - Anchoring Australia's gold medal winning 4x100 freestyle relay, holding off a fast charging Ranomi Kromowidjojo

This selection may raise some eyebrows given that Schlanger did not win any individual medals in London. Not that she didn't come close, just 0.03 seconds away from bronze in 100 free final. Schlanger makes this list for her three relay swims. As I mention above, relay medals alone won't get you a place in the Top 50, but outstanding relay performances will. In the 4x200 free relay Schlanger, a 100 specialist, had Australia's fastest split, and with the help of Bronte Barratt had the AUS team 0.6seconds ahead of USA after two legs.  They went on to win silver. In the 4x100 medley relay, another silver for Australia, Schlanger had the fastest freestyle split of the entire race. Finally, the 4x100 freestyle relay. Schlanger had a 1.36 second lead over the Netherlands when she took over, seemingly insurmountable, but then Ranomi Kromowidjojo split a sensational 51.93. Had Schlanger split 53.30 (faster than every USA relay split) Australia would have lost their only gold of the games, however Schlanger kept her cool and raced to a superb 52.65 final split. Kromowidjojo and Schlanger were the only two swimmers to break 53 seconds in the free relay.

42. Lu Ying - 2012 Highlight - Beating the more fancied Alicia Coutts and Sarah Sjostrom to win silver in the Olympic 100 butterfly final 

Lu Ying converted her World bronze medal from Shanghai into a silver in London. After a strong heat swim, followed by a less than convincing semi-final, she saved her best swim for the final to beat out Coutts for the silver 56.87 to 56.94. Lu Ying finished the year strongly with victory in the 50 butterfly at the World Short Course Championships in Istanbul (25.14), that came after she had crashed out of the 100 fly in the heats.

41. Vladimir Morozov - 2012 Highlight - Breaking out as the next sprint freestyle star at the World Short Course Championships

Morozov doesn't make the list for his Olympic exploits, although he was a part of Russia's bronze medal winning 4x100 freestyle relay. Instead he breaks into the Top 50 for his stunning 50 free (20.55), 100 free (45.65) double in Istanbul as well as an even faster relay lead off of 45.52. His sheer speed on top of the water is frightening, at the Euro SC and World SC he was swimming away from world class sprinters. 2013 should be an even brighter year for the 20 year old from Siberia, via Southern California.


On the bubble

Bronte Barratt, Natsumi Hoshi, Rikke Moller Pedersen, Ryo Tateishi, Laszlo Cseh, Clement Lefert, Kosuke Hagino, Caitlin Leverenz, Peter Vanderkaay, Brent Hayden, Yi Tang, Marleen Veldhuis, Li Xuanxu, Hannah Miley, Alia Atkinson, Olivia Smoliga, Mie Nielsen, Ilaria Bianchi


Interesting note - If last year is anything to go by, being in the 41-50 range is a great stepping stone for future success. Olympic champions included in this tier last year: Yannick Agnel, Cameron van der Burgh & Tyler Clary.

Poll Result - Who Will Win The Men's 200m Free at the World Championships?

The votes are in and the swimming world has spoken. Michael Phelps will win the 200m Free at Worlds this year. With the collective swimming knowledge of this blog's readership, you can mark that down as fact.

In the most popular vote hosted on this blog so far, close to 500 people gave their opinion. Here are the results of the most intriguing event in world swimming.

Top Tier

Michael Phelps - 207 votes (42.6%) - Reports are that Phelps is training well again after an off-year in 2010. If he gets back to his very best, then I agree with the voters on this one.
Ryan Lochte - 161 votes (33.1%) - World short-course champion and ranked second in the world long-course in 2010. The event schedule is friendly in Shanghai with the 200m Free the first event on Day Three.

Chasing Pack

Paul Biedermann - 33 votes (6.8%) - Third in the vote but a long way behind the American duo. Suit or no suit, the last time the world got together over 200m Free long-course, Biedermann was victorious.
Park Tae-Hwan - 29 votes (6.0%) - Bit of a surprise that the fastest man over 200m in 2010 only received 6% of the vote. I see Park winning in Shanghai as a very real possibility.
Yannick Agnel - 25 votes (5.1%) - The French youngster has hit the ground running in 2011 already posting a blazing 1:46.55 untapered. The scary thing about Agnel, he is only going to get faster.

Need to find something extra to challenge

Sebastiaan Verschuren - 12 votes (2.5%) - In the shadow of his European rivals, 22-year-old Verschuren continues to improve. Will need to drop a substantial amount of time to win in Shanghai though.
Oussama Mellouli - 6 votes (1.2%) - He's a 1500m swimmer right? Not if the Missouri Grand Prix is anything to go by, Mellouli won every Freestyle event 100 right through to 1500. His 200m Free time was a seriously impressive 1:47.03.
Danila Izotov - 6 votes (1.2%) - Had we taken this poll last year Izotov would have pulled in many more votes, however after a lackluster long-course season last year his stock has fallen. His performance in Dubai, a silver medal in the 200m Free behind Lochte, shows signs that he is returning to his exceptional best.
Sun Yang - 5 votes (1.0%) - His 1500 was voted the top performance of 2010, but he hasn't convinced enough people that he can acheive the same standard over 200m. Here's some food for thought - he swam 1:46.25 long-course last year, has just turned 19-years-old, is improving rapidly and will be swimming at home. He is my wild-card to take gold at Worlds.
Nikita Lobintsev - 2 votes (0.4%) - Shown no love from the voters, the European long-course silver medalist had the fastest last 50m of that race. No mean feat in a field that contained three of the men above him on this list.

New Vote - Who Will Win The Men's 200m Freestyle At The World Championships This Year

There are many great battles in the world of swimming currently, but none come close to the epic nature of the Men's 200m Freestyle. This is swimming's Hollywood event. Lochte v Phelps. Phelps v Biedermann. Agnel v Biedermann. USA v Russia. East v West. Youth v Experience. National Hero v National Hero. This event has it all.

Time to let the people speak...  

Who will win the Men's 200m Freestyle at the World Championships this year?

Here's a run down of the contenders (clink on the link to see the race itself):-

Ryan Lochte, Age: 26 - Last year 1:45.30

Park Tae-Hwan, Age: 21 - Last year 1:44.80

Michael Phelps, Age: 25 - Last year 1:45.61

Paul Biedermann, Age: 24 - Last year 1:45.47

Yannick Agnel, Age: 18 - Last year 1:45.83

Sun Yang, Age: 19 - Last year 1:46.25

Danila Izotov, Age: 19 - Last year 1:47.14

Sebastiaan Verschuren, Age: 22 - Last year 1:46.91

Nikita Lobintsev, Age: 22 - Last year 1:45.93

Oussama Mellouli, Age: 26 - Last year 1:49.04 (1:42.02 SC)

(If clicking a button isn't enough for you, make the case for your guy in the comments section.)


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