Category profile
- Dominance
- 92
- Peak
- 94
- Longevity
- 72
- Honours
- 88
- Statistics
- 92
Career timeline · Form index per season
| Season | Form index per season | Share of career |
|---|---|---|
| 1921 | 1 | |
| 1922 | 2 | |
| 1923 | 2 | |
| 1924 | 4 | |
| 1925 | 2 | |
| 1926 | 2 | |
| 1927 | 2 | |
| 1928 | 3 | |
| 1929 | 1 |
Data sources
- World Aquatics
- Olympedia
- IOC results
Figures come from public records and are normalised per sport. See the methodology for category weights. Method
Why Johnny Weissmuller ranks #20 in Swimming
Johnny Weissmuller ranks 20th among Swimming athletes on GOAT Rank and 215th of 2289 across every sport in the index. The published GOAT Score of 87.6 is the weighted result of five verified category scores: Dominance 92, Peak 94, Longevity 72, Honours 88, Statistics 92. 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 1921–1929 with 9 documented competitive seasons. The strongest single season in that series is 1924, which sets the Peak component at 94. Peak is the defining strength of the profile at 94 out of 100, and it carries 20% of the final score. The underlying career record includes olympic gold medals 5, olympic bronze medals 1, world records 51, us national titles 52.
Immediately ahead sits Chad le Clos on 87.8, a gap of 0.2 points. Directly behind is Mark Spitz on 87.5. 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.
Johnny Weissmuller GOAT Score explained
- Dominance92/100 · weight 25%
- Measures how far Weissmuller stood above the field while competing. Scored 92/100 against the full Swimming cohort.
- Peak94/100 · weight 20%
- Rates the best sustained stretch of the career, centred on 1924. Scored 94/100.
- Longevity72/100 · weight 20%
- Rewards staying at that level over time: 8 years of competition and 9 recorded seasons. Scored 72/100.
- Honours88/100 · weight 20%
- Counts documented titles, majors and awards in the verified record. Scored 88/100.
- Statistics92/100 · weight 15%
- Normalises the raw career numbers against everyone in the sport reporting the same metric. Scored 92/100.
Top Weissmuller comparisons
Johnny Weissmuller — frequently asked
- Is Johnny Weissmuller the GOAT?
- Not on the current data. Johnny Weissmuller ranks 20th in Swimming with a GOAT Score of 87.6, behind Michael Phelps on 98.1.
- What is Johnny Weissmuller's GOAT Score?
- 87.6 out of 100. It is the weighted sum of Dominance 92 (25%), Peak 94 (20%), Longevity 72 (20%), Honours 88 (20%), Statistics 92 (15%), computed from the verified career record.
- Where does Johnny Weissmuller rank all time?
- 215th of 2289 eligible athletes in the cross-sport index, and 20th within Swimming.
- Johnny Weissmuller vs Chad le Clos: who ranks higher?
- Chad le Clos, on 87.8 against Johnny Weissmuller's 87.6 — a margin of 0.2 points.