By way of James Sutherland on SwimSwam
After an extraordinary 12 months of racing that integrated the Olympics sandwiched between the Lengthy Path and Quick Path Global Championships, it’s time to begin liberating our 5th annual Best 100 listing—take a look at final 12 months’s scores right here.
As in earlier years, we’ve taken a statistically pushed method reliant basically upon global scores and medals received on the Olympics, and to a lesser extent, Quick Path Worlds and the 2024 Worlds in Doha. We’ve additionally accounted for such things as doable, long term medal alternatives, accidents, and flexibility. Lengthy-course is weighted extra closely than short-course, despite the fact that efficiency doable in each codecs is factored into our scores.
After a big contingent of Russian and Belarusian swimmers raced at Quick Path Worlds in December, the ones swimmers have began to transport again up the scores once they have been low at the lists final 12 months because of loss of festival.
We’ll be breaking down the highest 100 into a couple of installments, so stay a watch out as they’re launched.
Those lists are, through nature, subjective. In the event you disagree, depart your ideas/ranks within the feedback.
Thanks to Daniel Takata for his lend a hand with the knowledge and compiling the scores. Madeline Folsom contributed to this file.
Girls’s Ratings:
#100 – #91
#90 – #81
#80 – #71
#70 – #61
#60 – #51
#50 – #41
#40 – #31
#30 – #21
#20 – #11
#10 – #1
#20: Claire Curzan, USA (2024 Rank: 25) – In a single sense, Curzan had a wonderful 2024, profitable the primary 3 particular person global titles of her occupation, however from some other standpoint, she neglected the U.S. Olympic crew after qualifying for Tokyo as a 16-year-old. After 12 months at Stanford, Curzan introduced her switch to the College of Virginia in the summertime of 2023, and even supposing she didn’t start racing for the varsity crew till this previous fall, the educational in Charlottesville paid dividends within the lengthy route pool all over 2024. That kicked off with the Global Championships in Doha, the place she swept the ladies’s 50 again (27.43), 100 again (58.29) and 200 again (2:05.77), added a silver medal within the 100 fly (56.61), and received two extra relay medals for 6 in overall. The ones occasions ranked her 4th, sixth, fifth and ninth on the planet final 12 months, respectively. On the Olympic Trials, Curzan was once seeking a berth within the ladies’s 200 again, however ended up one spot shy in third (2:06.34), whilst she was once 4th within the 100 fly and eighth within the 100 again. In response to her occasions from Doha, most effective the 200 again would’ve been speedy sufficient to make the crew, so it stays a tall order for Curzan to make the U.S. crew because of the sheer intensity within the backstroke occasions. On the other hand, she’s apparently selecting up momentum in Virginia, which will have to make her a favourite to qualify for Worlds within the 200 again and be in podium place, and any development within the 100 again may see her in a equivalent spot.
#19: Ruta Meilutyte, Lithuania (2024 Rank: 14) – Meilutyte’s occupation resurgence endured in 2024, as she reaffirmed her standing as the most efficient feminine 50 breaststroker on the planet, profitable the LC global identify in Doha after which protecting her SC global identify in Melbourne, coming inside two one-hundredths of her global listing on the latter meet (28.39). The 27-year-old wasn’t at her ideally suited within the 100-meter match final 12 months, then again, as she did not earn a moment swim in Doha after which neglected the overall at each the Olympics (eleventh) and SC Worlds (thirteenth). Once you have down to at least one:04-mid territory in 2023, Meilutyte was once not able to damage 1:06 within the LC 100 breast final 12 months, so it is still noticed if she’ll get again to medal competition there. On the other hand, within the 50, she stays the most efficient on the planet till confirmed another way.
#18: Anastasiya Kirpichnikova, France (2024 Rank: 45) – After discovering a variety of global luck representing Russia in 2021, Kirpichnikova has reestablished herself as one of the vital global’s ideally suited distance swimmers since converting her wearing citizenship to France in 2023. She positioned fifth within the ladies’s 1500 unfastened on the 2024 Global Championships and adopted up through profitable silver within the match on the Olympics, generating an enormous lifetime ideally suited and French Document of 15:40.35 to rank #4 all-time. She additionally cut up 8:19.63 within the 800 unfastened to the ft within the 1500 ultimate—sooner than she went within the particular person 800, the place she positioned seventh in 8:22.80—which ranked eighth on the planet final 12 months and narrowly neglected Laure Manaudou‘s French Document of 8:18.80 from 2007. Within the 1500, Kirpichnikova ranked #2 in the back of Katie Ledecky, and for the reason that she’s most effective 24, Kirpichnikova generally is a perennial medalist within the mile if she unearths consistency. At SC Worlds, she completed 4th within the 1500 and sixth within the 800, neatly outdoor of her ideally suited occasions from 2021 (8:04.65/15:18.30), which within the 1500, was once the previous global listing.
#17: Alex Walsh, USA (2024 Rank: 17) – Regardless of her disqualification within the Olympic ultimate, Walsh has established herself as one of the vital ideally suited 200 IMers on the planet. The 2022 global champion received silver within the match on the Tokyo Olympics and 2023 Global Championships, and first of all touched within the bronze medal place in Paris earlier than she was once DQed for an unlawful back-to-breast flip. Walsh didn’t race for greater than 4 months from the Olympics to the Quick Path Global Championships whilst present process a meniscus process, however confirmed her stage when she resurfaced in December in Budapest, generating one of the vital quickest swims in historical past en path to silver within the 200 IM (2:02.65) and bronze within the 200 breast (2:16.83) whilst additionally main off the arena listing breaking 4×200 unfastened relay. The important thing for Walsh shifting ahead is organising herself at the global degree within the lengthy route 200 breast, having moved on from the 400 IM, to provide her a moment top-tier match to mix with the 200 IM. Ultimate 12 months, she ranked 4th on the planet within the 200 IM (2:07.45) and sixth within the 200 breast (2:22.38). With Lilly King inching towards retirement, Walsh is in place to overhaul her because the #2 possibility within the U.S. in the back of coaching spouse Kate Douglass.
#16: Lani Pallister, Australia (2024 Rank: 27) – Pallister confirmed off her freestyle vary final 12 months, rating fifth on the planet within the 1500 (15:53.79), sixth within the 400 (4:01.75), 800 (8:18.46) and eleventh within the 200 unfastened (1:55.57) in 2024. Regardless of qualifying to swim 3 particular person occasions on the Olympics, Pallister most effective ended up racing the 800, putting sixth, after shedding the 400 from her time table previous to the Video games, after which being out of the 1500 because of COVID. On the other hand, she bounced again and helped the Aussie ladies win gold within the 4×200 unfastened relay, and would’ve been a person medal danger if she was once totally wholesome in Paris. The 22-year-old went 8:15 within the 800 unfastened in overdue 2023, and has been as speedy as 15:48 within the 1500 in 2022. She confirmed off her skill at SC Worlds, profitable gold within the 800 unfastened (8:01.95) and silver within the 400 unfastened (3:53.73), and will have to be a primary medal contender in a couple of occasions on the 2025 LC Worlds after she wasn’t at 100% on the Olympics.
#15: Katharine Berkoff, USA (2024 Rank: 18) – Berkoff is among the quickest backstrokers of all-time, however unearths herself competing throughout the similar technology as Kaylee McKeown and Regan Smith, making main championship titles onerous to come back through. Berkoff broke 58 seconds within the 100 again 4 occasions final 12 months, going as speedy as 57.83 on the U.S. Olympic Trials to rank #4 all-time, and culminated issues through profitable bronze within the match in Paris. She additionally received gold after swimming a prelim leg of the U.S. ladies’s medley relay, and was once on hearth in December at Quick Path Worlds, profitable silver within the 50 again (25.61) and 100 again (54.93) in the back of Smith with one of the vital quickest swims ever. Now 24, Berkoff has raised her stage annually, however so have McKeown and Smith. Regardless, she’s a favourite to medal within the 100 again in the back of the ones two for the foreseeable long term, and he or she may well be seeking gold within the 50 again at LC Worlds given the extent she confirmed in 2022 (27.12 at Global Trials).
#14: Isabel Gose, Germany (2024 Rank: 34) – Gose is a rangy freestyler who has been constantly getting over since breaking out on the Tokyo Olympics. The German local was once sixth within the 400 unfastened and eleventh within the 200 unfastened in Tokyo, and after a gentle upward thrust that integrated profitable the Eu identify within the 400 unfastened in 2022, broke via to win the primary Olympic, LC Global and SC Global medals of her occupation in 2024. The 22-year-old received silver within the 800 and bronze within the 400 and 1500 unfastened in Doha, after which snagged bronze within the 1500 unfastened with a breakout swim on the Olympics (15:41.16) whilst additionally completing fifth in each the 400 unfastened (4:02.14) and 800 unfastened (8:17.82). She closed out the 12 months through profitable the SC global identify within the 1500 unfastened through 5 and a part seconds and added a silver within the 800 unfastened. Gose is firmly within the medal hunt within the 400, 800 and 1500 unfastened at LC Worlds, and will have to be preferred for a couple of golds at SC Euros in 2025.
#13: Katie Grimes, USA (2024 Rank: 16) – Grimes would possibly not have taken off as a lot within the distance freestyle occasions up to some can have anticipated popping out of her breakout Olympics in 2021, however she’s established herself because the second-best 400 IMer on the planet, no questions requested. The American has received silver within the 400 IM in the back of Summer season McIntosh on the 2022 and 2023 Global Championships, the Paris Olympics, and the 2024 SC Global Championships. Grimes, who became 19 in January, received silver within the 1500 unfastened on the 2022 Worlds, however positioned eighth in 2023 (whilst profitable bronze within the open water 10km) after which neglected the overall on the Olympics in tenth. Her quickest time final 12 months was once 15:57.31 from the SMOC in Challenge Viejo in April, rating her seventh on the planet, whilst she ranked ninth on the planet within the 800 unfastened (8:21.51) and eleventh within the 200 again (2:07.72) to move in conjunction with being third within the 400 IM (4:32.45). Now on the College of Virginia, Grimes shall be a swimmer to observe this 12 months as she targets to seek out extra consistency in her freestyle performances to move in conjunction with what she’s been in a position to constantly do within the 400 IM. We noticed a good signal on the SC Global Championships in December, the place she received bronze within the 800 unfastened and swam a leg at the global record-breaking 4×200 unfastened relay.
#12: Siobhan Haughey, Hong Kong (2024 Rank: 10) – Haughey has constantly been a top-three to 4 swimmer on the planet within the 100 and 200 unfastened for the reason that Tokyo Olympics, when she received silver in each occasions in the back of Australian powerhouses Emma McKeon and Ariarne Titmus. After lacking the 2022 Worlds, Haughey received silver within the 100 unfastened and was once 4th within the 200 unfastened on the 2023 Global Championships, after which captured the primary LC global identify of her occupation in February 2024, topping the 200 unfastened box in Doha. In Paris, Haughey landed at the podium in each occasions as soon as once more, incomes bronze within the 100 unfastened (52.33) and 200 unfastened (1:54.55), each occasions that ranked her fifth on the planet for 2024. The 27-year-old additionally received her 3rd directly SC global identify within the 200 unfastened this previous December, and guarantees to be a podium danger at the giant degree within the 100 and 200 unfastened shifting ahead.
#11: Evgeniia Chikunova, Russia (2024 Rank: 29) – Is Chikunova the most efficient 200 breaststroker on the planet? As the arena listing holder and the quickest lady on the planet final 12 months in lengthy route, she has an attractive sound argument, despite the fact that she was once overwhelmed head-to-head in her lone probability to race global festival. At SC Worlds, Kate Douglass beat Chikunova through greater than two and a part seconds within the 200 breast ultimate, and the Russian fell in need of the rostrum within the 100 breast. On the other hand, she was once the one lady sub-2:19 within the lengthy route match final 12 months, clocking 2:18.98 on the Russian Swimming Cup after environment the arena listing at 2:17.55 in 2023. The 20-year-old additionally ranked third on the planet in 2024 within the 100 breast (1:05.11), and after her look at SC Worlds in December, she’ll possibly be within the combine on the 2025 Global Championships in Singapore, the place she’ll have a showdown with Douglass for gold within the 200 breast and a shot at a medal within the 100.
Learn the overall tale on SwimSwam: SwimSwam’s Best 100 For 2025: Girls’s #20-11
