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

Top 50 Swimmers of 2012 - 20 to 11

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.

We're reaching the business end of the list. The fourth instalment takes us from 20 to 11...

20. Florent Manaudou - 2012 Highlight - Stunning victory in the 50 freestyle in London, setting a new textile best time in the process

There were a number of potential likely outcomes prior to the 50 free final, France's Florent Manaudou winning was not one widely shared in the swimming community. Manaudou swam a 22.0 heat and a 21.8 semi to rank 6th going in to the final. From lane 7 the Frenchman was faultless throughout the race winning in 21.34, breaking Fred Bousquet's textile best time by 0.02. The gap between Manaudou and silver medalist Cullen Jones of 0.20 seconds was the biggest winning margin since Matt Biondi in 1988. Manaudou had a strong SC season, but did lose out to Vlad Morozov in Istanbul. Cesar Cielo also finished the year ranked second, just 0.04 seconds behind Manaudou's time. All of that means the 50 free in Barcelona will be electric.

19. Jiao Liuyang - 2012 Highlight - Crushing the field on the final length of the 200 butterfly final in London, setting a new Olympic record and textile best time.

At Worlds in 2011 Jiao Liuyang led for the entire race and finished with a 33.40 final split. Despite the victory, she nearly lost the race to a fast charging Ellen Gandy. The Chinese flyer clearly learnt her lesson in London. On the way to her 2:04.06 winning time, Jiao Liuyang unleashed a stunning 31.31 homecoming split. The closest anyone came to that closing speed was USA's Camille Adams (5th) who closed in a 32.23.
She was utterly dominant in her 200 fly final in London, but was narrowly beaten by Katinka Hosszu in Istanbul in the 200 fly.

18. Nathan Adrian - 2012 Highlight - Being on the golden side of a 0.01 margin of victory in the 100 freestyle.

Nathan Adrian delivered on the biggest stage of all, taking down the odds-on favourite James Magnussen not once, but twice. Firstly Adrian gave the US 4x100 free relay a good platform for victory with the only sub-48 second lead-off leg, crucially finishing ahead of Magnussen. The fact that the team did not deliver the gold was no reflection on Adrian's contribution. The 100 freestyle final would be his defining moment of the Games, and is a definite candidate for race of the year. Adrian lost the lead to his Australian rival with 15m to go, but at the exact moment sprinters normally suffer, Adrian managed to find a second wind to overhaul Magnussen on the touch (albeit after a poor finish from Magnussen). His final contribution was a stunning 46.85 relay split on the 4x100 medley relay. The one knock on Adrian that holds him back from being higher in the list is that Magnussen's 47.10 still ranks considerably faster than Adrian's 47.52 at year's end.

17. Ruta Meilutyte - 2012 Highlight - Winning a shock Olympic gold in the 100 breaststroke as a 15 year old

Meilutyte broke into the swimming world's collective consciousness after leading all qualifiers after the heats of the 100 breaststroke. After improving her time again in the semi-finals down to 1:05.21, expectations started to sky rocket. Despite all the pressure, she delivered Lithuania their first ever swimming gold medal as an independent nation as she held off the late challenge of Rebecca Soni. The follow up to Meilutyte's display in London came at World SC in Istanbul. Winning the 50 breast & 100 breast double in European records as well as a silver in the 100 IM, the youngster confirmed her status as one of swimming's new superstars.

16. Allison Schmitt - 2012 Highlight - Blowing away her opposition to win the 200 freestyle in London by nearly 2 seconds in a textile best time of 1:53.61

Allison Schmitt's winning margin of 1.97 seconds in the 200 free was bigger than Rebecca Soni's 200 breast victory, it was also bigger than Missy Franklin's 200 back gap to silver. In fact, it was a bigger margin of victory than all other 200m events in London (men and women). Federica Pellegrini's 200 free world record of 1:52.98 now looks like a tantalizing target for Schmitt in Barcelona. Schmitt's medal haul didn't stop at the 200 free either. She pushed Camille Muffat all the way in the 400 freestyle before ending up with the silver medal. She also overhauled Alicia Coutts and Australia on the anchor leg of the US 4x200 free relay gold medal team and swam the freestyle leg of the world record setting US 4x100 medley team and anchored the US bronze medal winning 4x100 free relay. Despite not being in top form in Istanbul, she won the world SC title in the 200 free comfortably, although Camille Muffat had been 2 seconds faster a month before.

15. Katie Ledecky - 2012 Highlight - Winning the Olympic 800 freestyle title in the second fastest time ever.

Ledecky and Ruta Meilutyte were born two days apart on separate sides of the world, but together the two 15 year olds turned the swimming world on its head in London. Ledecky first came to prominence at the US trials in Omaha. After narrowly missing out on a place in the 400 free, she won the 800 free in 8:19.78. That was the warning sign of what was to come in London. In the Olympic 800 final the American used the time honoured race tactic of 'breaking the field', splitting 4:04.3 at 400m she built an unassailable lead over a final that included Rebecca Adlington, Lotte Friis and Mireia Belmonte Garcia. Ledecky was under WR pace at 750m and eventually ended up with gold and the second fastest time ever (breaking Janet Evans' 23 year old American record). If this list was based on just one race, Ledecky would find herself higher than 15. Had she qualified for (and made waves in) the 400 free and/or broken the 800 free world record she might have been looking at a Top 5 spot.

14. Matt Grevers - 2012 Highlight - Annihilating the field in the 100 backstroke final in London to win in 52.16

What a year 2012 has been for Grevers. Video of his proposal to Annie Chandler went viral (and she accepted), he came within 0.14 seconds of Aaron Peirsol's 100 back world record at US trials, became Olympic champion winning by 0.76 seconds and finished the year as world SC champion in the 100 back. This is the same man that missed out on a place on the 2011 USA Worlds team in Shanghai. From a neutral perspective we can only hope that Camille Lacourt is back to his 52.11 form from 2010 when the two men meet again in Barcelona, Peirsol's world record is on borrowed time.

13. Daniel Gyurta - 2012 Highlight - Winning Olympic 200 breaststroke gold in a new world record of 2:07.28

How is Gyurta still only 23 years old? The Hungarian picked up his first Olympic gold medal, 8 years after winning silver in Athens as a 15 year old. He also set a new world record in the process, having just enough strength to hold off Michael Jamieson in the last 5 metres. He also narrowly missed out on a medal in the 100 breast by 0.04 seconds. Then, just a month after London he saw his world record taken away from him by Akihiro Yamaguchi. Its not often an Olympic champion who breaks the world record ends the year ranked no. 2. Gyurta regained the upper hand in Istanbul when he took down a loaded 200 breast final that included Jamieson and Yamaguchi.

12. Ryan Lochte - 2012 Highlight - Dominating the 400 IM final, winning by 3.68 seconds.

A spot outside the Top 10 will not please the army of Lochte fans, but the heir apparent to Michael Phelps underperformed in London. His highlight, the 400 IM, came on day 1 and thereafter Lochte's performances seemed to drop off.  He lost out to Tyler Clary and Ryosuke Irie in the 200 back, and didn't medal in the 200 free. He finished behind Phelps in the 200 IM and then could only watch as Yannick Agnel swept past him in the 4x100 free relay to snatch gold away from the USA. He did have some level of redemption in the 4x200 relay with a strong 1:45.15 lead off leg. The Florida man might have slipped further down the list had it not been for his starring role at the World SC Championships. His two world records, three individual titles and three relay golds reaffirmed his status as the best SC swimmer in the world. Next year I fully expect Lochte to be back in the Top 5, although there are some chinks appearing in his armour.

11. Chad le Clos - 2012 Highlight - Beating the unbeatable Michael Phelps in his pet event, the 200 butterfly

Talking of heir apparent to Michael Phelps, Chad le Clos might just be it. Le Clos has emerged as a superstar of swimming (with the obligatory legion of female fans). Le Clos did not set any new world records, or textile best times in London, but his 200 butterfly victory was such an incredible achievement that he gets this lofty place ahead of other record breakers. His 100 fly silver showed his developing speed, which was even more evident in Istanbul as he got within striking distance of the 100 fly world record. Had he taken part in the 200 fly, there is a good chance we could have seen a new 200 fly world record. The real test of whether le Clos has made the jump to the next level of stardom will be seen in 2013 by how many other swimmers start wearing goggles around their neck.


Top 50 so far...

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

Top 50 Swimmers of 2012 - 30 to 21

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.

 The third part of the list takes us from 30 to 21...

30. Satomi Suzuki - 2012 Highlight - Riding Rebecca Soni's waves in the 200 breast to win silver, equalling the Asian record of 2:20.72 in the process

Suzuki had her major international breakthrough this summer in London. Her bronze in the 100 breaststroke was a surprise, but her 200 breaststroke was the star making swim. Suzuki was never more than 0.75 seconds behind Soni for the first 150m and finished just 1.13 seconds back from Soni's world record breaking swim.  Still just 21 years of age, it will be fascinating to see what kind of progress the Japanese breaststroker can make at Worlds in 2013.

29. Alicia Coutts - 2012 Highlight - Swimming the sixth fastest 200 IM in history en route to a silver medal in London

Coutts came home from London with quite the medal haul. In individual events she collected silver in the 200 IM, and added a bronze in the 100 fly (moving to 8th on the all-time list). She also had some fine relay swims in each of the Aussie women's three relays collecting a further gold and two silvers. Coutts is becoming one of the most dependable swimmers in major championships having been a multiple medallist at Pan Pacs, Commonwealths, Worlds and now Olympics. The only medal missing from her collection is an individual gold from Worlds or Olympics.

28. Park Tae-Hwan - 2012 Highlight - Finishing equal second with Sun Yang in the Olympic 200 freestyle final

The Korean superstar didn't manage to equal the success he had in Beijing where he won gold and silver, but returning home with two silver medals was still a tremendous result.  After being reinstated after a false start disqualification was overturned in the 400 freestyle heats, he led the final for 300m, before Sun Yang turned on the afterburners in the final 100m. He swam a well paced 200 freestyle to finish behind Yannick Agnel, tied with Sun Yang and ahead of both Ryan Lochte and Paul Biedermann. Park also finished 4th in the 1500 final.

27. Emily Seebohm - 2012 Highlight - Getting within 0.11 of the 100 backstroke world record in the 100 backstroke heats in London

Gemma Spofforth's world record of 58.11 seemed like a mark that would last some time before Seebohm gave it an almighty rattle in her 100 back heat swim. Unfortunately she wasn't able to improve on her heat time and ended up with silver in the 100 back, silver in the 4x100 medley relay (as well as gold from her heat swim in the 4x100 freestyle relay). Seebohm may have been a victim of her own early speed. After the stunning heat swim, all attention in the 100 back shifted from Missy Franklin to Seebohm, and gave Franklin a rabbit to chase. Seebohm left London in the knowledge that her heat swim remained the fastest 100 back swam in London. The swimming world can look forward to a Franklin-Seebohm rematch at Worlds.

26. Mireia Belmonte Garcia - 2012 Highlight - Swimming a tactically brilliant 800 freestyle to win silver ahead of home favourite Rebecca Adlington

Belmonte Garcia was not expected to factor in the 800 free podium in London. That seemed to be the territory of Adlington, Katie Ledecky and Lotte Friis. Instead, the Spaniard crashed the party with her steady pacing. Running 5th all the way to 450m, she then moved up to 4th before taking 3rd from Friis at 600m. At 700m she picked off Adlington, finishing with the silver in a time of 8:18.76. Her other silver medal in the 200 fly was equally as impressive and also involved beating more fancied rivals. Her national record of 2:05.25 placed her ahead of Hoshi, Hershey, Adams, Lowe, Jakabos and Zige. Belmonte Garcia became the first Spanish swimmer to win two Olympic medals.

25. Michael Jamieson - 2012 Highlight - Just running out of pool as he closed down Daniel Gyurta in the 200 breaststroke

Jamieson was one of the revelations of the Olympics and finished with Britain's highest place of the Games. Qualifying fastest for the 200 breast final opened many peoples eyes, but the race was still expected to be between Gyurta and Kosuke Kitajima. Jamieson tracked Gyurta for the first 150m before taking half a second out of the Hungarian's lead on the final 50m. Ending up just 0.15 shy of Gyurta and his new world record, he became (at the time) the 4th fastest ever in the event and second fastest ever in textile. He also picked up silver in Istanbul at World SC in a loaded final, losing out to Gyurta once again.

24. Aliaksandra Herasimenia - 2012 Highlight - Racing to a national record of 24.28 in the 50 freestyle, picking up her second silver medal from London

The reigning co-world champion in the 100 free, Herasimenia proved that Shanghai was no fluke. Only Ranomi Kromowidjojo stood in her way in London as she picked up silvers in the 50 free and 100 free. In Kromowidjojo's absence she won the world short course title in the 50 free in Istanbul to complete a great year for the Belarussian. 2012 was the year that Herasimenia confirmed her status as one of the world's premier sprinters.

23. Akihiro Yamaguchi - 2012 Highlight - Shocking the world with his 2:07.01 world record in the 200 breaststroke at the Japan Open

Yamaguchi was a difficult man to place in this list. His ranking comes down to how highly you value world records. The 18-year-old missed out on a place in London, but made sure the world didn't forget about him by blowing away Daniel Gyurta's world record before the ink had even dried in the record book. He finished 4th in his first global final in Istanbul, just shy of Jamieson and Viatcheslav Sinkevich. The emergence of the young Japanese breaststroker has made the men's 200 breaststroke one of the must-see events in world swimming as we enter 2013.

22. James Magnussen - 2012 Highlight - Getting within touching distance of the 100 freestyle world record with his 47.10 from Australian Olympic Trials

Another of the most difficult swimmers to place in the top 50 list. He was 0.01 second away from being much higher in this list. Firstly, the positives. Magnussen's 47.10 swim is a strong candidate for swim of the year. It changed the world's image of what was possible in the 100 freestyle. London didn't go well for Magnussen though. Picking up silver in 47.53, just a hundredth of a second behind winner Nathan Adrian was not what the Missile would have expected. That final came after an underwhelming 48.03 lead-off in the 4x100 freestyle, where the hot-favourite Australian team had to settle for fourth. All in all a frustrating Olympics for Magnussen, but he still ends the year 0.42 clear of the rest of the world after that stunning 47.10 effort.

21. Tyler Clary - 2012 Highlight - Beating long-time rivals Ryan Lochte and Ryosuke Irie to win gold in the 200 backstroke in London

Clary missed out on Olympic qualification for the 400 IM, instead making the team in the 200 fly and 200 back. His fifth place in the 200 fly was solid, but he was well out of the medal hunt. Then came his 200 back final. The seemingly invincible Ryan Lochte led to 150m, but Clary never let his compatriot get away. Clary closed Lochte down for the entire second 100m of the race and eventually moved clear on the final length to record one of the biggest upsets of the Olympic Games. With Michael Phelps out of the picture in many of Clary's events, he should have his pick of races in 2013.

Top 50 so far...

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

Top 50 Swimmers of 2012 - 40 to 31

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.

The second part of the list takes us from 40 to 31...

40. Nick Thoman - 2012 Highlight - Being the '2' of the USA's 1-2 in the men's 100 backstroke final in London.

Thoman gets bonus points for having to come through a loaded US trials final to make the US Olympic team. David Plummer was sub-53 seconds in Omaha, with Ben Hesen 4th in 53.0, but Thoman's 52.86 booked his ticket. With his 52.92 swim in the Olympic final he took the silver medal getting the better of a some big name rivals including Ryosuke Irie, Camille Lacourt, Liam Tancock and Helge Meeuw. Thoman's year has undoubtedly been overshadowed by Matt Grevers, but he deserves his spot in the top 50.

39. Thiago Pereira - 2012 Highlight - Finishing as the highest placed Brazilian in London with his silver medal in the 400 IM.

Despite finishing behind Ryan Lochte by over three and a half seconds, Pereira was still good enough to pick up the silver medal ahead of the likes of Michael Phelps, Chad le Clos and Kosuke Hagino. Having finished 5th in the 200 IM in Athens and 4th in Beijing, Pereira's hard work payed off as he finally secured an Olympic medal at the third time of trying. His poor freestyle leg came back to haunt him in the 200 IM final as he turned 2nd at 150m, only to be passed by both Michael Phelps and Laszlo Cseh to drop him down to fourth.

38. Cullen Jones - 2012 Highlight - Getting his hand on the wall second in the hotly contested 50 freestyle final in London.

Florent Manaudou's heroics may have led some to overlook Cullen Jones' first Olympic medal in an individual event. Jones was able to match his semi-final time to finish 2nd in the final ahead of Cesar Cielo, Bruno Fratus, Anthony Ervin, Roland Schoeman, George Bovell and Eamon Sullivan. He also swam a fine 47.60 leg in the USA's silver medal winning 4x100 free relay. He showed good resilience to come back after he placed 16th in the 100 free semis.

37. Ryan Cochrane - 2012 Highlight - Staying with Sun Yang for 600m before finishing with silver in the 1500 freestyle in London

The 1500 was expected to be a formality for Sun Yang, but Ryan Cochrane kept the final interesting for 600m. Despite being dropped by the Chinese champion, he still held on valiantly for silver and became the fourth fastest 1500 swimmer in history (third fastest in textile). Along with Ous Mellouli, Cochrane ensured that the London podium was two thirds the same as in Beijing. Cochrane also just missed out on the 400 final by 0.01 seconds, finishing 9th after the heats.

36. Takeshi Matsuda - 2012 Highlight - Playing a big part in one of the most exciting races of London 2012 with his bronze in the 200 butterfly

Matsuda ran out of steam a couple of metres out from the wall, otherwise he might have been the man to take down Michael Phelps in his signature event. Instead he finished third in 1:53.21, the fourth fastest performance in textile. Matsuda's 51.20 fly leg (1.16 seconds faster than his individual 100 fly) in the 4x100 medley relay also gave Japan enough of a cushion over Australia and James Magnussen for them to hang on for silver.

35. Christian Sprenger - 2012 Highlight - Breaking 59 seconds in the 100 breaststroke to pick up an Olympic silver medal

Sprenger had looked strong in the heats (fastest qualifier) and semi (winning semi-final 2), but it still came as a big surprise to see the Australian break through 59 seconds to win silver behind Cameron van der Burgh's world record. In the two years after the tech-suits were banned, Sprenger hadn't been back under the minute barrier in the 100 breast, but in 2012 it all came good swimming under the mythical barrier 5 times. Sprenger split 59.05 in the 4x100 Medley relay for the bronze medal winning Australia, but was out-split by Kosuke Kitajima (58.64), with Japan taking silver.

34. Anastasia Zueva - 2012 Highlight - Bouncing back from 4th in the 100 backstroke to win silver in the 200 back

After finishing 4th and 5th in Beijing in the backstrokes and 4th in London in the 100 back, Zueva must have been cursing her Olympic luck, which made her silver medal in the 200 backstroke all the more impressive. After 150m of the final, the race for silver looked wide open, but Zueva mustered the fastest closing 50 of the race to finish behind Missy Franklin. She became only the second woman in history to dip under 2:06 in textile (the other being Franklin).

33. Rebecca Adlington - 2012 Highlight - Her hard fought bronze in the 400 freestyle in a time of 4:03.01

Adlington's double bronze performance in London confirmed her status as Britain's most successful ever Olympic swimmer and was a fine return. The only disappointment came from the fact that she had been faster in both the 400 and 800 free at British trials back in March, something that plighted most of the British team in London. Given the form of Camille Muffat and Allison Schmitt it would have been a tall order to improve on her bronze in the 400 free. In the 800 free the silver escaped her grasp, but the gold was always going to be difficult with the form of Katie Ledecky on the day. Post-Olympics Adlington cycled 450km through Zambia for charity, which unfortunately does not count towards this list.

32. Elizabeth Beisel - 2012 Highlight - Her silver medal in the 400 IM. It took Ye Shiwen's world record to beat her.

After her stunning 400 IM world title in Shanghai, Beisel was the heavy favourite going into London. Unfortunately she came up against Ye Shiwen and her incredible 4:28.43 world record. Beisel swam a tremendous race, leading at 300m by 0.8 seconds. She finished half a second faster than her winning time from Shanghai. She ends the year with 3 of the top 5 swims in the 400 IM. She also picked up a second individual medal with bronze in the 200 backstroke behind Franklin and Zueva. 

31. Ryosuke Irie - 2012 Highlight - Beating Ryan Lochte in the Olympic 200 backstroke final, ending up with the silver medal

After finishing 5th as an 18 year old in Beijing, Irie put together 4 tremendous years in the run up to London. Irie's consistency has been tremendous and he owns 5 of the top 10 200 back swims this year. In London he was able to save his fastest swim of the year for the Olympic final (1:53.78, the third fastest swim in textile). Going into the final he must have thought that if he beat Lochte, the gold would be his, but unfortunately Tyler Clary scuppered that for him. Irie also picked up bronze in the 100 back final with a sub-53 second swim and gave Japan a great launching pad in the 4x100 medley relay that won silver with a 52.92 lead-off (slightly faster than his individual final time).


Top 50 so far...

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

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.