Fastest Swimmers In The World



Michael Fred Phelps (born June 30, 1985) is an American swimmer who has, overall, won 16 Olympic medals—six gold and two bronze at Athens in 2004, and eight gold at Beijing in 2008. In doing so he has twice equaled the record eight medals of any type at a single Olympics achieved by Soviet gymnast Alexander Dityatin at the 1980 Moscow Summer Games. His five golds in individual events tied the single Games record set by Eric Heiden in the 1980 Winter Olympics and equaled by Vitaly Scherbo at the 1992 Summer Games. Phelps holds the record for the most gold medals won in a single Olympics, his eight at the 2008 Beijing Games surpassed American swimmer Mark Spitz's seven-gold performance at Munich in 1972. Phelps Olympic medal total is second only to the 18 Soviet gymnast Larissa Latynina won over three Olympics, including nine gold.
Phelps's international titles and record breaking performances have earned him the World Swimmer of the Year Award six times and American Swimmer of the Year Award eight times. He has won a total of fifty-nine medals in major international competition, fifty gold, seven silver, and two bronze spanning the Olympics, the World, and the Pan Pacific Championships. His unprecedented Olympic success in 2008 earned Phelps Sports Illustrated magazine's Sportsman of the Year award.
After the 2008 Summer Olympics, Phelps started the Michael Phelps Foundation, which focuses on growing the sport of swimming and promoting healthier lifestyles. As a participant in the US Anti-Doping Agency's "Project Believe" program, Phelps is regularly tested to ensure that his system is clean of performance-enhancing drugs.

2002 Pan Pacific Championships = 3golds, 2silvers
2003 World Championships = 4golds, 2silvers
2004 Summer Olympics = 6golds, 2bronze
2005 World Championships = 5golds, 1silver
2006 Pan Pacific Championships = 5golds, 1silver
2007 World Championships = 7golds
2008 Summer Olympics = 8golds
2009 World Championships = 5golds, 1silver
2010 Pan Pacific Championships = 5golds

Honors and Awards

• World Swimmer of the Year Award: 2003, 2004, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009^[186]
• American Swimmer of the Year Award: 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009^[186][187]
• Golden Goggle Male Performance of the Year: 2004, 2006, 2007, 2008^[2]
• Golden Goggle Relay Performance of the Year: 2006, 2007, 2008^[2]
• Golden Goggle Male Athlete of the Year: 2004, 2007, 2008^[2]
• USOC SportsMan of the Year Award: 2004, 2008^[188]
• James E. Sullivan Award: 2003^[189]
• Laureus World Sports Sportsman of the Year Award (Nominated): 2004, 2005, 2008, 2009^{[190][191][192][193]}
• Sports Illustrated Sportsmen of the Year: 2008^[194]

Swimming World Records

With 39 world records (29 individual, 10 relay) as of 02009-12-19 December 19, 2009, Phelps has set more records than any other swimmer, surpassing Mark Spitz's previous record of 33 world records (26 individual, 7 relay). All but two of the records were set in a long course (50 meter) pool; records that currently stand are indicated in bold. Currently, he holds seven world records.

Men

Event	Time		Name	Nationality	Date	Meet	Location	Ref
01 ! 50 m freestyle	20.91		Cielo , César César Cielo	Brazil	02009-12-18 18 December 2009	Open Tournament	Brazil, São Paulo ! São Paulo, Brazil	[2]
02 ! 100 m freestyle	46.91		Cielo , César César Cielo	Brazil	02009-07-30 30 July 2009	World Championships	Italy, Rome ! Rome, Italy	[3]
03 ! 200 m freestyle	1:42.00		Biedermann , Paul Paul Biedermann	Germany	02009-07-28 28 July 2009	World Championships	Italy, Rome ! Rome, Italy	[3]
04 ! 400 m freestyle	3:40.07		Biedermann , Paul Paul Biedermann	Germany	02009-07-26 26 July 2009	World Championships	Italy, Rome ! Rome, Italy	[3]
05 ! 800 m freestyle	7:32.12		Zhang Lin	China	02009-07-29 29 July 2009	World Championships	Italy, Rome ! Rome, Italy	[3]
06 ! 1500 m freestyle	14:34.56		Hackett , Grant Grant Hackett	Australia	02001-07-29 29 July 2001	World Championships	Japan, Fukuoka ! Fukuoka, Japan	[4]
07 ! 50 m backstroke	24.04		Tancock , Liam Liam Tancock	Great Britain	02009-08-02 2 August 2009	World Championships	Italy, Rome ! Rome, Italy	[3]
08 ! 100 m backstroke	51.94		Peirsol , Aaron Aaron Peirsol	United States	02009-07-08 8 July 2009	US Championships	United States, Indianapolis ! Indianapolis, United States	[5]
09 ! 200 m backstroke	1:51.92		Peirsol , Aaron Aaron Peirsol	United States	02009-07-31 31 July 2009	World Championships	Italy, Rome ! Rome, Italy	[3]
10 ! 50 m breaststroke	26.67		van der Burgh , Cameron Cameron van der Burgh	South Africa	02009-07-29 29 July 2009	World Championships	Italy, Rome ! Rome, Italy	[3]
11 ! 100 m breaststroke	58.58		Rickard , Brenton Brenton Rickard	Australia	02009-07-27 27 July 2009	World Championships	Italy, Rome ! Rome, Italy	[3]
12 ! 200 m breaststroke	2:07.31	(sf)	Sprenger , Christian Christian Sprenger	Australia	02009-07-30 30 July 2009	World Championships	Italy, Rome ! Rome, Italy	[3]
13 ! 50 m butterfly	22.43		Muñoz , Rafael Rafael Muñoz	Spain	02009-04-05 5 April 2009	Spanish Championships	Spain, Málaga ! Málaga, Spain	[6]
14 ! 100 m butterfly	49.82		Phelps , Michael Michael Phelps	United States	02009-08-01 1 August 2009	World Championships	Italy, Rome ! Rome, Italy	[3]
15 ! 200 m butterfly	1:51.51		Phelps , Michael Michael Phelps	United States	02009-07-29 29 July 2009	World Championships	Italy, Rome ! Rome, Italy	[3]
16 ! 200 m individual medley	1:54.10		Lochte , Ryan Ryan Lochte	United States	02009-07-30 30 July 2009	World Championships	Italy, Rome ! Rome, Italy	[3]
17 ! 400 m individual medley	4:03.84		Phelps , Michael Michael Phelps	United States	02008-08-10 10 August 2008	Olympic Games	China, Beijing ! Beijing, China	[7]
18 ! 4×100 m freestyle relay	3:08.24		Phelps !  (47.51) Michael Phelps  (47.02) Garrett Weber-Gale  (47.65) Cullen Jones  (46.06) Jason Lezak	United States	02008-08-11 11 August 2008	Olympic Games	China, Beijing ! Beijing, China	[8]
19 ! 4×200 m freestyle relay	6:58.55		Phelps !  (1:44.49) Michael Phelps  (1:44.13) Ricky Berens  (1:45.47) David Walters  (1:44.46) Ryan Lochte	United States	02009-07-31 31 July 2009	World Championships	Italy, Rome ! Rome, Italy	[3]
20 ! 4×100 m medley relay	3:27.28		Peirsol !  (52.19) Aaron Peirsol  (58.57) Eric Shanteau  (49.72) Michael Phelps  (46.80) David Walters	United States	02009-08-02 2 August 2009	World Championships	Italy, Rome ! Rome, Italy	[3]

Legend: # – Record awaiting ratification by FINA; Records not set in finals: (h) – heat; (sf) – semifinal; (r) – relay 1st leg; (rh) – relay heat 1st leg; (b) – B final; † – en route to final mark; (tt) – time trial

By athlete (men)

Record count	Name	Nationality	Events
7	Michael Phelps	United States	100 m butterfly LC 200 m butterfly LC 400 m individual medley LC 4×100 m freestyle relay LC 4×200 m freestyle relay LC 4×100 m medley relay LC 4x100 m freestyle relay SC
4	Paul Biedermann	Germany	200 m freestyle LC 400 m freestyle LC 200 m freestyle SC 400 m freestyle SC
4	Ryan Lochte	United States	200 m individual medley LC 4x200 m freestyle relay LC 200 m individual medley SC 400 m individual medley SC
3	Grant Hackett	Australia	1500 m freestyle LC 800 m freestyle SC 1500 m freestyle SC
3	Cameron van der Burgh	South Africa	50 m breaststroke SC 100 m breaststroke SC 50 m breaststroke LC
3	Aaron Peirsol	United States	100 m backstroke LC 200 m backstroke LC 4×100 m medley relay LC