The Olympics have always been a stage where athletes strive for greatness, pushing the boundaries. In the realm of swimming, these efforts often culminate in the breaking of major records that captivate the world.
Here is a list of the major swimming records broken at the Olympics:
Men’s 1500m Freestyle - 2012 London Olympics
Sun Yang celebrates after winning the men’s 1500m freestyle final at the London 2012 Olympic Games. | Photo Credit: Getty Images
Sun Yang broke the men’s 1500m freestyle record at the 2012 London Olympics. The Chinese swam the distance in 14:31.02, breaking his own previous record by 3.12 seconds.
Before competing in the event, Yang had won the men’s 400m event and had a silver medal to his name in the men’s 200m freestyle event. Moreover, he was the anchor swimmer of the Chinese team that won a bronze in the 4×200m freestyle relay, the country’s first-ever Olympics medal in a men’s relay event.
Women’s 800m Freestyle - 2016 Rio Olympics
Katie Ledecky broke her world record for women’s 800m freestyle swimming at the 2016 Rio Olympics. | Photo Credit: Getty Images
Perhaps the most successful active female swimmer for USA, Katie Ledecky broke her world record for women’s 800m freestyle swimming at the 2016 Rio Olympics. Ledecky swam the distance in 8:04.79s, about 11 seconds ahead of Great Britain’s Jazmin Carlin in the event’s finals. Before the competition, Ledecky held the record at 8:06.68s.
Women’s 100m Butterfly - 2016 Rio Olympics
Sarah Sjostrom in action. | Photo Credit: Getty Images
Sarah Sjostrom of Sweden broke her own world record in the women’s 100m butterfly event at the 2016 Rio Olympics. The Swedish freestyle and butterfly swimmer clocked 55.48s in the finals, beating Canada’s Penny Oleksiak by 0.98s. Prior to the competition, Sjostrom held the record at 55.64s.
Men’s 100m Butterfly - 2020 Tokyo Olympics
Caeleb Dressel broke his own world record in the men’s 100m butterfly event at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics | Photo Credit: Getty Images
Caeleb Dressel broke his own world record in the men’s 100m butterfly event at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. The American swam the distance in 49.45s in the finals, improving from 49.71s in the semifinals. Hungary’s Kristóf Milák, who finished second, clocked 49.68s to set a new European record.
TEAM RECORDS
Men’s 4×100m Freestyle Relay - 2008 Beijing Olympics
Team USA broke its own men’s 4 × 100 m freestyle relay world record at the 2008 Beijing Olympics. | Photo Credit: Getty Images
Team USA broke its own men’s 4 × 100 m freestyle relay world record at the 2008 Beijing Olympics. Before the Olympics, Team USA, including Michael Phelps (48.83s), Neil Walker (47.89s), Cullen Jones (47.96s), and Jason Lezak (47.78s), had set the world record in the event with a time of 3:12.46s at the 2006 Pan Pacific Championships in Canada.
USA broke its previous record in the heats with a timing of 3:12.23s. In the finals, the team comprising Phelps (47.51s), Garrett Weber-Gale (47.02s), Jones (47.65s), and Lezak (46.06s) recorded a historic time of 3:08.24s, which has not been broken so far.
Men’s 4×100m Medley Relay - 2020 Tokyo Olympics
Team USA shattered its 12-year-old world record in the 4x100m men’s medley relay in Tokyo three years ago. | Photo Credit: REUTERS
Team USA shattered its 12-year-old world record in the 4x100m men’s medley relay in Tokyo three years ago.
The team comprising Aaron Peirsol (52.19s), Eric Shanteau (58.57s), Phelps (49.72s), and David Walters (46.80s) had clocked 3:27.28s at the 2009 World Aquatics Championships in Rome, Italy.
However, at the Tokyo Games, the group of Ryan Murphy (52.31s), Michael Andrew (58.49s), Dressel (49.03s), and Zach Apple (46.95s) broke the record by clocking 3:26.78s.
Mixed 4×100m Medley Relay - 2020 Tokyo Olympics
(L-R) Silver medalists Jiayu Xu, Zibei Yan, Yufei Zhang and Junxuan Yang of Team China, Gold medalists Adam Peaty, James Guy, Anna Hopkin and Kathleen Dawson of Team Great Britain, Bronze medalists Kaylee McKeown, Zac Stubblety-Cook, Matthew Temple and Emma McKeon of Team Australia pose on the podium during the medal ceremony for the Mixed 4 x 100m Medley Relay final. | Photo Credit: Getty Images
Team Great Britain set a new world record in the mixed 4×100 m medley relay event at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. The event made its Olympics debut that year, and the previous world record was set by China at the 2020 Chinese Swimming Championships at 3:38.41s.
Team Great Britain, featuring Kathleen Dawson (58.80s), Adam Peaty (56.78s), James Guy (50.00s), and Anna Hopkin (52.00s) clocked 3:37.58s to strike down the record held by the Chinese.
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