Category profile
- Dominance
- 68
- Peak
- 84
- Longevity
- 64
- Honours
- 76
- Statistics
- 72
Career timeline · Form index per season
| Season | Form index per season | Share of career |
|---|---|---|
| 1980 | 60 | |
| 1981 | 72 | |
| 1982 | 82 | |
| 1983 | 90 | |
| 1984 | 96 | |
| 1985 | 78 | |
| 1986 | 66 |
Data sources
- World Aquatics
- Olympedia
- European Aquatics
Figures come from public records and are normalised per sport. See the methodology for category weights. Method
Why Chris Cavanaugh ranks #263 in Swimming
Chris Cavanaugh ranks 263rd among Swimming athletes on GOAT Rank and 3001st of 4013 across every sport in the index. The published GOAT Score of 72.6 is the weighted result of five verified category scores: Dominance 68, Peak 84, Longevity 64, Honours 76, Statistics 72. Those categories are normalised against the full Swimming reference universe of 289 records, not a shortlist, so the position reflects the whole sport rather than a handful of famous names.
The record covers 1980–1986 with 7 documented competitive seasons. The strongest single season in that series is 1984, which sets the Peak component at 84. Peak is the defining strength of the profile at 84 out of 100, and it carries 20% of the final score. The underlying career record includes olympic gold medals 1, world records in relays 1, pan american games medals 2, us national podiums 4.
Immediately ahead sits Hilary Caldwell on 72.9, a gap of 0.3 points. Directly behind is Ilya Borodin on 71.7. 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.
Chris Cavanaugh GOAT Score explained
- Dominance68/100 · weight 25%
- Measures how far Cavanaugh stood above the field while competing. Scored 68/100 against the full Swimming cohort.
- Peak84/100 · weight 20%
- Rates the best sustained stretch of the career, centred on 1984. Scored 84/100.
- Longevity64/100 · weight 20%
- Rewards staying at that level over time: 6 years of competition and 7 recorded seasons. Scored 64/100.
- Honours76/100 · weight 20%
- Counts documented titles, majors and awards in the verified record. Scored 76/100.
- Statistics72/100 · weight 15%
- Normalises the raw career numbers against everyone in the sport reporting the same metric. Scored 72/100.
Top Cavanaugh comparisons
Chris Cavanaugh — frequently asked
- Is Chris Cavanaugh the GOAT?
- Not on the current data. Chris Cavanaugh ranks 263rd in Swimming with a GOAT Score of 72.6, behind Michael Phelps on 98.1.
- What is Chris Cavanaugh's GOAT Score?
- 72.6 out of 100. It is the weighted sum of Dominance 68 (25%), Peak 84 (20%), Longevity 64 (20%), Honours 76 (20%), Statistics 72 (15%), computed from the verified career record.
- Where does Chris Cavanaugh rank all time?
- 3001st of 4013 eligible athletes in the cross-sport index, and 263rd within Swimming.
- Chris Cavanaugh vs Hilary Caldwell: who ranks higher?
- Hilary Caldwell, on 72.9 against Chris Cavanaugh's 72.6 — a margin of 0.3 points.