Category profile
- Dominance
- 88
- Peak
- 92
- Longevity
- 84
- Honours
- 88
- Statistics
- 88
Career timeline · Form index per season
| Season | Form index per season | Share of career |
|---|---|---|
| 1991 | 22.3 | |
| 1992 | 21.9 | |
| 1993 | 21.8 | |
| 1994 | 21.64 | |
| 1995 | 21.9 | |
| 1996 | 22 | |
| 1997 | 22.2 | |
| 1998 | 22.1 | |
| 1999 | 21.94 | |
| 2000 | 22.2 | |
| 2001 | 22.4 | |
| 2002 | 22.6 |
Data sources
- World Aquatics
- Olympedia
- Olympics.com
Figures come from public records and are normalised per sport. See the methodology for category weights. Method
Why Alexander Popov ranks #9 in Swimming
Alexander Popov ranks 9th among Swimming athletes on GOAT Rank and 167th of 1063 across every sport in the index. The published GOAT Score of 88.0 is the weighted result of five verified category scores: Dominance 88, Peak 92, Longevity 84, Honours 88, Statistics 88. Those categories are normalised against the full Swimming reference universe of 288 records, not a shortlist, so the position reflects the whole sport rather than a handful of famous names.
The record covers 1990–2004 with 12 documented competitive seasons. The strongest single season in that series is 2002, which sets the Peak component at 92. Peak is the defining strength of the profile at 92 out of 100, and it carries 20% of the final score. The underlying career record includes olympic golds 4, olympic medals 9, world championship golds 6, world records 4.
Immediately ahead sits Aaron Peirsol on 89.2, a gap of 1.2 points. Directly behind is Adam Peaty on 88.7. The position moves whenever the verified record moves: new titles, new seasons or a corrected source all feed straight back into the same formula, and every change is dated on this profile.
Alexander Popov GOAT Score explained
- Dominance88/100 · weight 25%
- Measures how far Popov stood above the field while competing. Scored 88/100 against the full Swimming cohort.
- Peak92/100 · weight 20%
- Rates the best sustained stretch of the career, centred on 2002. Scored 92/100.
- Longevity84/100 · weight 20%
- Rewards staying at that level over time: 14 years of competition and 12 recorded seasons. Scored 84/100.
- Honours88/100 · weight 20%
- Counts documented titles, majors and awards in the verified record. Scored 88/100.
- Statistics88/100 · weight 15%
- Normalises the raw career numbers against everyone in the sport reporting the same metric. Scored 88/100.
Top Popov comparisons
Alexander Popov — frequently asked
- Is Alexander Popov the GOAT?
- Not on the current data. Alexander Popov ranks 9th in Swimming with a GOAT Score of 88.0, behind Michael Phelps on 98.1.
- What is Alexander Popov's GOAT Score?
- 88.0 out of 100. It is the weighted sum of Dominance 88 (25%), Peak 92 (20%), Longevity 84 (20%), Honours 88 (20%), Statistics 88 (15%), computed from the verified career record.
- Where does Alexander Popov rank all time?
- 167th of 1063 eligible athletes in the cross-sport index, and 9th within Swimming.
- Alexander Popov vs Aaron Peirsol: who ranks higher?
- Aaron Peirsol, on 89.2 against Alexander Popov's 88.0 — a margin of 1.2 points.