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 - The Top 10

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 alone were not valued highly, however race-changing relay contributions were.

Top 50 (50-41)
Top 50 (40-31)
Top 50 (30-21)
Top 50 (20-11)
Expert Poll: Top 10 Swimmers of 2012

This is it. The final instalment takes us from 10 to 1.

10. Cameron van der Burgh - 2012 Highlight - Dominating the 100 breaststroke final, winning in a new world record and finishing the job that his close friend Alex Dale Oen had started

Until this year van der Burgh was considered to be a speed merchant who didn't quite have the endurance to win a global title over 100m. That all changed in London. Van der Burgh went out in a lightning fast 27.07 first 50m, but what was even more impressive, on the way home only Christian Sprenger split faster than the South African. This in a final that included 200 breast champion Daniel Gyurta, Kosuke Kitajima and Brendan Hansen. Some sentimentality also comes with this pick, due to van der Burgh's dedication of his victory to Alexander Dale Oen who tragically passed away just 3 months before the Olympic final. For anyone who would like to see the South African dropped lower down the list because of his admission of illegal fly kicks, rewatch the final. He was certainly not alone.

9. Camille Muffat - 2012 Highlight - Becoming Olympic champion in the 400 freestyle in 4:01.45, leading from start to finish

It says a lot about Muffat's year that London didn't rank as one of her most impressive performances of the year ... and yet she still came away with an individual gold and silver medal. Muffat makes the Top 10 for consistent brilliance across for the entire year. Her 4:01.13 from French Olympic trials was spectacular. Her consistency of swimming 1:55s and 1:56s in the 200 freestyle all year long was incredible, with her fastest effort of the year a 1:54.66 from Olympic trials. She also had some of the most incredible splits we've ever seen. A 8:23.60 effort in the 800 free with splits of 4:18.7 and 4:04.8 as well as a 4:02.97 swim in the 400 free with splits of 2:04.4 and 1:58.5. She rounded out the year with total dominance of women's short course freestyle with world records in the 400 free (3:54.85) and 800 free (8:01.06) as well as a 1:51.65 for good measure in the 200 free.

8. Rebecca Soni - 2012 Highlight - Stamping her authority on the 200 breaststroke by breaking the world record twice in two days en route to gold

Rebecca Soni had been knocking on the door of Annamay Pierse's 200 breast world record since 2010, in London she took out that frustration by breaking it twice. Firstly in the semi-final she crept under the mark by 0.12 seconds, she then took the record down another 0.41 seconds to 2:19.59 in the final. Despite excellent swims from the other medallists in London, Soni still finished first in her final by over a second. Soni came very close to doubling up in the 100 breaststroke, but couldn't quite get past Ruta Meilutyte in the final. She also threw down a 1:04.82 relay split on the USA's world record breaking 4x100 medley relay. Had a young Lithuanian not emerged in London, Soni would have been vying for a Top 5 spot.

7. Dana Vollmer - 2012 Highlight - Saving her best swim of the year for the 100 butterfly Olympic final where she won gold in a new world record of 55.98

Of all swimming events in 2012, male or female, nobody dominated their event like Dana Vollmer and the 100 fly. Not only did Vollmer take the event to uncharted territories by breaking the 56 second barrier, she set the new standard without the aid of her competitors snapping at her heels. Peppering the world rankings with 56 and 57 second swims she was in a league of her own this year. Her heat, semi and final times from US Trials and the Olympics were all faster than the next fastest swimmer this year in the 100 fly. In the Olympic final she turned in third before turning on the jets with the only sub-30 second final split to win by 0.89... and here's a terrifying prospect for her rivals, she had an awful finish. I would also argue that her 55.48 relay split was the key leg in the world record breaking USA 4x100 medley relay.

6. Michael Phelps - 2012 Highlight - Winning the 200 IM in 1:54.27, well clear of long time rival Ryan Lochte

The greatest of all time hung up his goggles in London and did so with an extra four gold medals and two silvers to add to his hefty collection. For that reason alone Phelps will top many people's lists this year, but not mine. Let's look at what Phelps didn't do in 2012. He didn't set an Olympic record, a textile best time or a world record this year. Every other swimmer in the Top 10 set at least one of these. He also failed to medal in the 400 IM and lost the 200 butterfly to Chad le Clos. That's not to say he had a bad year. His 200 IM victory was clinical, as was his 100 butterfly to a slightly lesser extent. As always Phelps showed up in the relays too. In the 4x100 free relay, had Yannick Agnel not raced to his out of this world split of 46.74, we would have been talking more about Phelps' 47.14 second split that put the USA in a great position to win. His 1:44.0 200 free split was the second fastest of the entire relay, again behind Agnel, and his 50.73 fly split in the 4x100 medley relay took the USA from 2nd to an unassailable gold medal winning position. Phelps is the greatest swimmer and greatest Olympian of all time, but that doesn't automatically make him the best swimmer of 2012.

5. Ye Shiwen - 2012 Highlight - Unleashing a spectacular freestyle split to win the 400 IM in a new world record time of 4:28.43... and surviving the media furore that followed

Ye Shiwen entered London as a 16 year old known in the swimming community for her fast finishes and 200 IM world title. She left as one of the most talked about athletes of 2012, sadly not enough of the discussion was focused on the positives... her two superb IM swims. Her 400 IM was sensational, after tracking Elizabeth Beisel for 300m, she came home in a spectacular final 100m time of 58.68. Employing the same tactics in the 200 IM, she swept past Alicia Coutts to win in a new textile best time of 2:07.57. Ye Shiwen couldn't have done any more in her two swims in London and she missed out on a Top 3 spot by the narrowest of margins. Ultimately swimming only two events in London without any relay heroics dented her chances.

4. Missy Franklin - 2012 Highlight - Leading from start to finish in the final of the 200 backstroke in London, setting a new world record in the process

Franklin was the most successful female swimmer in London from a medal standpoint. She left with 4 golds (2 individual + 2 relay) as well as bronze in the 4x100 free relay. As well as her individual world record in the 200 back, she also led off USA's world record setting 4x100 medley relay. London was a sensational first Olympic Games for Franklin, and she is well on her way to becoming the biggest name in American swimming. She had a couple of disappointments in London as she finished 4th in the 200 freestyle, missing bronze by 0.01, an event many had predicted her winning in the build up to the Olympics. She was also outside the medals in the 100 freestyle with a 5th place finish. Those two swims were just enough to keep her out of the Top 3, but like Ye Shiwen, by the narrowest of margins. This year Franklin also confirmed her status as the friendliest person to ever enter a body of water.

3. Ranomi Kromowidjojo - 2012 Highlight - Winning the 50 free in a new textile record and Olympic record of 24.05, her second individual gold medal of the Olympic Games

All Olympic swimming events are equal... but some events are more equal than others. Kromowidjojo just so happened to take part in three of the most iconic Olympic races (50 free, 100 free, 4x100 free relay) and was sensational in all of them. In her individual races Kromowidjojo set new Olympic records to win both the 50 free and 100 free, emulating her compatriot Inge de Bruijn's achievements from 2000. Not only did she win them, she won them by some distance. In the 50 free a stunning start took her clear of the field before winning by 0.23 seconds. In the 100 free she turned in fourth, but a superb turn and second 50m gave her victory by 0.38 seconds. The best swim from Kromowidjojo came in the 4x100 freestyle relay, even though the Dutch had to settle for a silver medal behind Australia. Kromowidjojo, swimming the last leg, started 1.36 seconds down on Australia but produced a sensational relay split of 51.93 to make things interesting. Had she been up against a lesser swimmer than Mel Schlanger, she might just have done it. Kromowidjojo also set a new textile best time of 52.75 in the 100 free back in April. Looking back over the last 12 months, Kromowidjojo is the undisputed fastest woman in water.

2. Sun Yang - 2012 Highlight - Lowering his own 1500 freestyle world record by 3 seconds to win his trademark event in London

Sun Yang was spectacular in London. He got the ball rolling by winning the 400 freestyle in 3:40.14, just 0.07 shy of Paul Biedermann's world record (and 0.08 seconds shy of Ian Thorpe's textile best time). By doing so he was also able to beat his Korean rival Park Tae Hwan into second and get some revenge for his defeat in Shanghai at Worlds the year before. In the 200 freestyle he tied with Park Tae Hwan for silver in a new national record, beating Ryan Lochte and Paul Biedermann in the process. Then came his 1500 free masterclass. His slowest 50 of the entire race was a 29.54 as he dropped his rivals one by one, then came the fireworks at the end of the race. His final 100m was a 53.49, his final 50m a 25.68. This came after 1400m of racing. The only slight disappointment of his Olympic efforts was his 1:45.55 split in the 4x200 free relay (0.6 seconds slower than his individual final), although he did move from 5th to 3rd to secure a bronze for China. Had this list been focused on the Olympics alone, Sun Yang would have been number one.

1. Yannick Agnel - 2012 Highlight - Overtaking Ryan Lochte in the final 10m of the 4x100 free relay to become a national hero back in France

Yannick Agnel takes the number one spot for two of the most stunning moments from London as well as his brilliant end to the year in the short course pool. Agnel did not return with the medals of some of the others on this list, he also did not set a LC world record. On the surface he seems like an odd choice for the top spot, but then you just need to cast your mind back to Sunday 29 July and the men's 4x100 freestyle relay. After France lost out to the USA in the same race on the back of Jason Lezak's heroics in Beijing, it was a memory that haunted an entire nation for four years. In the intervening years they unearthed Yannick Agnel and tested him on the final leg of several relays, each time he performed well. As all attention shifted to theAustralia vs USA showdown, the French knew they had a weapon they could deploy on the final leg. Even so, the race looked over as Agnel dived in over half a second behind superstar Ryan Lochte, a proven commodity in relays. He also had James Roberts and Danila Izotov just behind him. After the takeover Lochte extended his lead before Agnel closed the gap at the turn to 0.30 seconds. The American's turn opened up the gap again to Agnel, before the Frenchman managed to draw level with Lochte with 10m to go. In the next 10m Agnel delighted a nation and ended 4 years of hurt. His split time of 46.74 was Lezak-esque. In fact, Agnel Lezak'd the USA. That wasn't the end of Agnel's stunning Olympics either. The 200 freestyle was all set to be a clash of the titans. Lochte, Biedermann, Sun Yang, Park Tae Hwan and Agnel. Only Michael Phelps was missing. A race too close to call ended up being a procession for Agnel who won by 1.79 seconds to set a new textile best time of 1:43.14. He also just missed out on a medal in the individual 100 freestyle by 0.04 seconds finishing in 4th. His final contribution in London was the fastest 200 freestyle split of the entire 4x200 free relay (0.8 seconds faster than Phelps), to lead France to silver in the relay. It wasn't just London that sealed the top spot for Agnel. Throughout the early part of the year he was dropping incredibly fast swims, alongside team mate Camille Muffat they were two of the early stars of 2012. He also didn't slow down post-Olympics becoming the first man to break a Paul Biedermann suited world record with his 400 free time of 3:32.25 as well as just missing the 200 freestyle mark by 0.33 with his 1:39.70. As a comparison, the respective world titles in Istanbul were won in 3:39.15 by Paul Biedermann nearly 7 seconds slower than Agnel and 1:41.70 by Ryan Lochte, 2 seconds down on Agnel's time.

So there you have it, the Speed Endurance Swimmer of the year goes to France's Yannick Agnel



Speed Endurance Top 50 Swimmers of 2012

50. Brendan Hansen
49. Oussama Mellouli
48. Yulia Efimova
47. Aya Terakawa
46. Cesar Cielo
45. Yevgeny Korotyshkin
44. Katinka Hosszu
43. Melanie Schlanger
42. Lu Ying
41. Vladimir Morozov
40. Nick Thoman
39. Thiago Pereira
38. Cullen Jones
37. Ryan Cochrane
36. Takeshi Matsuda
35. Christian Sprenger
34. Anastasia Zueva
33. Rebecca Adlington
32. Elizabeth Beisel
31. Ryosuke Irie
30. Satomi Suzuki
29. Alicia Coutts
28. Park Tae-Hwan
27. Emily Seebohm
26. Mireia Belmonte Garcia
25. Michael Jamieson
24. Aliaksandra Herasimenia
23. Akihiro Yamaguchi
22. James Magnussen
21. Tyler Clary
20. Florent Manaudou
19. Jiao Liuyang
18. Nathan Adrian
17. Ruta Meilutyte
16. Allison Schmitt
15. Katie Ledecky
14. Matt Grevers
13. Daniel Gyurta
12. Ryan Lochte
11. Chad le Clos
10. Cameron van der Burgh
9. Camille Muffat
8. Rebecca Soni
7. Dana Vollmer
6. Michael Phelps
5. Ye Shiwen
4. Missy Franklin
3. Ranomi Kromowidjojo
2. Sun Yang
1. Yannick Agnel

Women's 100m Freestyle Living Up To It's Blue Riband Billing

Photo courtesy of @aadvangroningen

Today in Eindhoven Ranomi Kromowidjojo vaulted herself back to the top of the list of favourites in the women's 100m Freestyle. Having seen Sarah Sjostrom move past the rest of the world at the end of last year, Kromowidjojo broke out with a stunning 52.75 effort. 



This time not only breaks Sjostrom's previous textile best mark of 53.05 from November, but also clears Libby Trickett's time of 52.99 set in a mixed relay back in 2007 (in a lane next to Michael Phelps).

To highlight the depth of this event, here is a list of swimmers with a legitimate medal chance (and their best time in textile). I've put them into the tiers I see them currently:

Tier 1

Ranomi Kromowidjojo - 52.75
Sarah Sjostrom - 53.05

Tier 2

Fran Halsall - 53.48
Missy Franklin - 53.63
Aleksandra Herasimenia - 53.45
Jeanette Ottesen - 53.45
Femke Heemskerk - 53.60*

Tier 3

Britta Steffen - 53.30
Natalie Coughlin - 53.40
Yi Tang - 53.71
Mel Schlanger - 53.74
Cate Campbell - 53.84
Dana Vollmer - 53.94

There will not be many (if any) events at the Olympics with a deeper final field than the women's 100m Freestyle.

* Heemskerk didn't compete in Eindhoven today, with Marleen Veldhuis swimming 53.95 today she may not have qualified for the individual 100m Free.

Breaking News: Aleksandra Herasimenia Denies Elbowing Alicia Coutts

There has been a lot of speculation surrounding 'Elbow Gate', the allegations from Alicia Coutts that she was elbowed in the head and spat at before the 100m Freestyle final at the World Championships in Shanghai. 

Coutts still has not revealed the name of the alleged culprit, but did say that it was one of the European finalists in the race. Since the story broke last week we have seen Ranomi Kromowidjojo cleared by Coutts herself on Twitter as well as a denial from Femke Heemskerk. Fran Halsall saw the incident, heard the apology and forgot who was involved describing the incident as 'a non entity'.

In a Speed Endurance exclusive we can now add another denial to that list. Joint gold medal winner Aleksandra Herasimenia.

I caught up with Herasimenia and in a strongly worded denial she told me that the allegations were 'stupid' and questioned the authenticity of the claims. 'I know that I did not do it, and Jeanette (Ottesen) too, I spoke to her. Nor could she do that!', she said. 'I did not see anything and so I think all this is fiction!'

Top 51 Swimmers of 2011 - 31 to 22

As another year of great swimming comes to a close, here is a rundown of the Top 50 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.


Here is the rundown from 31 to 22.

31. Natalie Coughlin – 2011 Highlight – Leading off the US 4 x 100 Medley relay at Duel in the Pool in an American record 55.97, setting up the US team to break the world record.

Coughlin’s year was highlighted more by her contribution to a historically good US women’s medley relay (both long course and short course) than her individual exploits. Things were almost different when she came close to winning the 100m Back final finishing 0.10 shy of gold. Having led the entire race, she eventually had to settle for bronze. A solid lead-off for the US silver medal freestyle relay gave Coughlin the role of team player in 2011.

30. Yulia Efimova – 2011 Highlight – Reaching new heights in the 200m Breast, taking silver in 2:22.22.

Efimova emerged in 2011 as possibly the only swimmer that can challenge Rebecca Soni in the 200m Breast. Efimova split 1.2 seconds faster than Soni on the second 100m of the final and continues to learn how to swim the event after focusing for years on the 100m. The speed is still there, as evidenced by her silver in the 50m Breast and 4th place in the 100m Breast (missing a medal by 0.04).

29. Ryosuke Irie – 2011 Highlight – Winning silver in the 200m Back in Shanghai (1:54.08).

There is no more consistent swimmer than Ryosuke Irie. He owns an incredible 6 of the fastest 7 swims this year in the 200m Back. Unfortunately he has to race a certain Ryan Lochte, but swimming his fastest time of the year in the world final was a step forward. He also owns 8 of the top 14 times in the 100m Back and picked up a bronze in Shanghai.

Amsterdam Swim Cup - 11- 13 March

Highly coveted World Championship spots are up for grabs at the Amsterdam Swim Cup this weekend. Expect some fast swimming from Holland's finest.

Results & Startlists - HERE

UPDATE - Femke Heemskerk has broken the Dutch 100m Back record in this morning's heats with her time of 1:00.03. Inge Dekker has also qualified for Shanghai with a 57.62 100m Fly.

This Weekend's Racing

Another good weekend of racing coming up as many swimmers compete in their final competition before their national championships.

British University Championships - Feb 11-13 - (LC) - Psych Sheet - Results

British Swimming are sending the big guns to compete alongside the students.

UPDATE - Rebecca Adlington just swam 8:23.85. Moves to the top of the world rankings and just 2.6 seconds down on last year's best effort. Splits of 2:04.48 / 4:12.63 /  6:18.66 / 8:23.85 (negative split). In a mixed race Adlington beat 6 men and just finished shy of Stirling's Josh Walsh (8:23.36). Shows what a racer she is.

(Feat. Rebecca Adlington, Fran Halsall, Joanne Jackson, Elizabeth Simmonds, Gemma Spofforth, Amelia Maughan, Steph Proud, Stacey Tadd, Liam Tancock, Ross Davenport, Robert Bale, Laurent Carnol, Antony James, Joe Roebuck, Michael Jamieson, Kris Gilchrist, Chris Walker-Hebborn, Roberto Pavoni)

New South Wales State Championships - Feb 11-13 - (LC) - Result 

Britain's Ellen Gandy was hugely impressive beating both Steph Rice and Therese Alshammar comfortably in the 100m Fly. Gandy's time of 58.23 vaults her to the top of the early world rankings.

(Feat. Stephanie Rice, Leisel Jones, Therese Alshammar, Marieke Guehrer, Ellen Gandy, Belinda Hocking, Megan Nay, Katie Goldman, Ryan Cochrane, Andrew Lauterstein, Ryan Napoleon, Kyle Richardson, Matt Targett, Kenneth To, James Magnussen, Thomas Fraser-Holmes, Ashley Delaney, Hayden Stoeckel)

Swedish Grand Prix - Feb 12-13 - (LC) - Start List - Results

Marleen Veldhuis (25.13) held off Ranomi Kromowidjojo (25.30) in the 50m Free. Sarah Sjöström won the 100m Fly in an impressive time of 58.47 (just shy of Gandy's time from the other side of the world).

(Feat. Ranomi Kromowidjojo, Sarah Sjöström, Marleen Veldhuis, Sharon van Rouwendaal, Jennie Johansson, Petra Granlund, Gabriella Fagundez, Stefan Nystrand, Simon Sjödin, Petter Stymne)

Meeting National Nice (LC) - Feb 11-13 - Results (Thanks to Dublincat for the tip)

(Feat. Yannick Agnel, Alain Bernard, Danila Izotov, Stanislav Donets, Boris Steimitz, Camille Muffat, Coralie Balmy, Ophelie-Cyrille Etienne, Alexandra Putra)

Incredible times from Camille Muffat (1:56.63 200m Free, 8:2655 800m Free) and Yannick Agnel (1:46.55 200m Free), strengthening their claims as serious contenders for Shanghai later this year. Also featuring a 1:04.91 100m Breast from none other than Alain Bernard... how about a switch to IM? He can swim 200m Free and 100m Breast... Just saying.

Thoughts from the European Short Course Championships - Ranomi Kromowidjojo Special

When it comes to Ranomi Kromowidjojo this year the overriding question has to be...What might have been in 2010?

She started the year in white hot fashion with blazing times of 24.40 (LC 50m Free) and 53.44 (LC 100m Free) back in March. Even after all the major LC competitions this summer, she remains top ranked in the world over 100m Free and second in the 50m Free. Fully tapered at Europeans, Britta Steffen's textile best time of 53.30 surely would have gone... and by some margin. Unfortunately for Kromowidjojo and Holland, she was hit with a bout of Meningitis in July, before she could perform at Europeans...

... as a result its all the sweeter that she should have returned at the European Short Course Champs, on home soil, in such top form.

Here's a run down of her phenomenal performances from last week's competition.

1.) Women's 100m Freestyle Final - 51.44 (Last year in Istanbul - 51.44)



The 4th best performance of all time, equalling her time exactly from last year's corresponding competition. Missed the WR by just 0.43 seconds.

2.) Womens's 50m Freestyle Final - 23.58 (Last year in Istanbul - 23.58!)



The 10th best performance of all time, equalling her time exactly from last year's corresponding competition. Missed the WR by just 0.33 seconds.

3.) Women's 4 x 50m Medley Relay - Freestyle split - 22.70. (Last year in Istanbul - 22.70!!) 



Equals her own fastest relay split of all-time, EQUALLING HER TIME FROM LAST YEAR'S CORRESPONDING COMPETITION!

4.) Women's 4x50m Freestyle Relay - Split 23.09.  (Last year in Istanbul - 23.03. So close!)



The Dutch team get pretty close to their own World Record, just 1.09 seconds away.

Had Marleen Veldhuis' 23.38 from the relay heats replaced Femke Heemskerk's 23.79 from the final, and Kromowidjojo swam the 22.70 that came later in the competition, a difference of 0.8 seconds, they would have missed the WR by just 0.29.

For the 100m Free in Shanghai 2011 and London 2012, I'm making Kromowidjojo favourite with Fran Halsall her closest competition.

PS. Has anyone in major competition history, ever swum four races, equalled their time from the year before in three of those races, and been just 0.06 seconds off in the fourth race? Only logical explanation is that Ranomi Kromowidjojo is a robot, unaffected by suit law changes.

PPS. Thanks to Youtube user zwemsitenl (http://www.zwemsite.nl) for the videos, hope you don't mind me stealing them offering them to a wider audience).

Thoughts from European Swimming Championships - Day Three

Day Three didn't provide quite the same excitement as Day One and Day Two had, however they were hard acts to follow. That's not to say the night was short on action, time to run through the main talking points:-

- From a personal point of view I was looking forward to the men's 200m Free above all the other races at Europeans. Frankly, I was a little underwhelmed by tonight's final.

I really thought Biedermann would swim faster than he did. Not an unreasonable expectation given the fact that he swam 0.2 seconds faster at German Nationals. Biedermann seems to react best when the competition is fierce and he just didn't have that big of a challenge tonight. The man who should have posed the biggest challenge, Danila Izotov, seemed like he was on top form after his relay heroics on Monday but just didn't show up for the final.

There are a lot of people that will jump on this swim (and his 400m Free) and highlight how much slower he is this year without his suit. Unfortunately for Biedermann, because he beat Michael Phelps wearing a techsuit (100% legal remember), he has become the poster boy for the suit era. He must be tired of answering questions on how this year is different to last. To answer his skeptics he really needs to do one or all of these three points:-

1.) Finish the year on top of the world rankings (looking unlikely now)

2.) Get down into 1:44 territory and get close to Phelps and Thorpe's best textile times. Phelps' best textile time (wearing a textile suit that covered his chest and legs) was 1:43.86, whilst Thorpe's was 1:44.06 (wearing his trademark full body suit).

3.) Win the World Championships again in 2011.

- The race that needs to happen in Budapest is a rematch of the 400m Free Final over 200m. Yannick Agnel vs Paul Biedermann. Hopefully the German and French teams give the fans what they want and put both men on the first leg of the 4 x 200m Free relay. (Knowing the French selection policy, Agnel will probably be dropped from the relay as he didn't do his victory lap of honour quickly enough on Monday evening.)


- Fran Halsall showed that she has made a significant step-up in world swimming by winning the 100m Freestyle final tonight despite not being fully tapered. It was the type of performance that showed real racing quality.

53.58 moves her to second in the world this year and is just 0.28 seconds off Britta Steffen's textile best time. Assuming everything goes to plan in Delhi we could certainly see Steffen's mark go and could even see the first woman under 53 seconds in a textile suit.

- Whilst Britain celebrates its third Gold medal, spare a thought for Ranomi Kromowidjojo. The Dutch sprinter had been one of the revelations of 2010 and her 53.44 effort back in March still leads the world rankings. Had Kromowidjojo not been struck down with illness just weeks before the competition started we may have been talking about a historic swim from the talented Dutch freestyler. Kromowidjojo's time will come and she will likely be a formidable force next year at World's and in London in two years time.

- Watch out for Daniel Gyurta tomorrow in the 200m Breaststroke final. There looked to be a lot more in the tank after his semi-final effort of 2:10.11. Brendan Hansen's textile best time of 2:08.50 could well be within Gyurta's reach in front of a home crowd.

- Another day, another stunning swim from Camille Lacourt. This time he raced to the top of the world rankings and took down his second textile best mark in the 50m Back. His semi final time of 24.30 moves him ahead of Liam Tancock's effort of 24.52 from earlier this year. Tancock's WR sits a little uneasily at 24.04. For more insight into Lacourt's progression over the last few years check out David Rieder's profile of the Frenchman.