A Statistical Look at the World Championships: The Leading Countries and Athletes
Swimming World takes a look at some of the leading countries and individual athletes in the 50-year history of the World Championships. The competition originated in 1973 in Belgrade, Yugoslavia, and has been held on a biennial basis since 2001. This summer’s edition in Fukuoka, Japan, will be the 20th global competition.
Note: Statistics are updated through the 2022 World Championships.
Years and Sites of the
World Championships
1973 Belgrade, Yugoslavia
1975 Cali, Colombia
1978 West Berlin, West Germany
1982 Guayaquil, Ecuador
1986 Madrid, Spain
1991 Perth, Australia
1994 Rome, Italy
1998 Perth, Australia
2001 Fukuoka, Japan
2003 Barcelona, Spain
2005 Montreal, Canada
2007 Melbourne, Australia
2009 Rome, Italy
2011 Shanghai, China
2013 Barcelona, Spain
2015 Kazan, Russia
2017 Budapest, Hungary
2019 Gwangju, South Korea
2022 Budapest, Hungary
2023 Fukuoka, Japan
Team Records
MOST MEDALS (Top 15)
551 United States
236 Australia
121 China
115 East Germany
93 Germany
84 Russia
82 Great Britain
80 Hungary
74 Japan
71 Italy
70 Canada
64 France
63 Netherlands
52 Soviet Union
51 Sweden
MOST GOLD MEDALS (Top 15)
239 United States
85 Australia
50 China
50 East Germany
34 Hungary
23 Great Britain
23 Italy
21 Germany
20 Russia
18 France
16 Sweden
11 Canada
11 Netherlands
11 South Africa
11 Soviet Union
Individual Records
Men
MOST MEDALS (Top 5)
33 Michael Phelps (United States)
27 Ryan Lochte (United States)
19 Grant Hackett (Australia)
17 Caeleb Dressel (United States)
17 Sun Yang (China)
MOST GOLD MEDALS (Top 5)
26 Michael Phelps (United States)
18 Ryan Lochte (United States)
15 Caeleb Dressel (United States)
11 Ian Thorpe (Australia)
11 Sun Yang (China)
MOST MEDALS/INDIVIDUAL EVENTS (Top 5)
20 Michael Phelps (United States)
16 Ryan Lochte (United States)
14 Grant Hackett (Australia)
14 Sun Yang (China)
8 Caeleb Dressel (United States)
8 Aaron Peirsol (United States)
8 Ian Thorpe (Australia)
Individual Records
Women
MOST MEDALS (Top 5)
22 Katie Ledecky (United States)
20 Natalie Coughlin (United States)
20 Sarah Sjostrom (Sweden)
17 Yuliya Efimova (Russia)
17 Emma McKeon (Australia)
17 Ranomi Kromowidjojo (Netherlands)
16 Missy Franklin (United States)
16 Simone Manuel (United States)
MOST GOLD MEDALS (Top 5)
19 Katie Ledecky (United States)
11 Missy Franklin (United States)
11 Simone Manuel (United States)
10 Sarah Sjostrom (Sweden)
10 Lilly King (United States)
MOST MEDALS/INDIVIDUAL EVENTS (Top 5)
19 Sarah Sjostrom (Sweden)
16 Katie Ledecky (United States)
15 Yuliya Efimova (Russia)
15 Katinka Hosszu (Hungary)
10 Federica Pellegrini (Italy)
In your Female Most Medals list you have left out Emma McKeon and Ranomi Kromowidjojo who both have 17 medals. I’m looking forward to Emma adding to that tally very shortly!
It seems the U.S. is over-due to host the World Championships