GGOATRANK
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Swimming · Freestyle sprint · United States

Nathan Adrian

2007–2021 · Olympic 100 m freestyle champion in 2012 and an eight-time Olympic medallist.

Retired
Ranking model

100% titles, statistics, dominance, longevity and global competition depth.

Pure sporting data
87.3
Cultural & brand footprint 46/100 · total legacy 78.5
Olympic golds
5
Olympic medals
8
World Championship golds
7
100 m freestyle best
47.5
Olympic Games
3

Category profile

Dominance
84
Peak
92
Longevity
84
Honours
88
Statistics
90

Career timeline · Form index per season

SeasonForm index per seasonShare of career
200848.5
200948.4
201048.1
201147.9
201247.52
201347.72
201447.72
201548
201647.85
201748.1
201848.4
201948.6

Data sources

  • World Aquatics
  • Olympedia
  • Swimming World

Figures come from public records and are normalised per sport. See the methodology for category weights. Method

Why Nathan Adrian ranks #24 in Swimming

Nathan Adrian ranks 24th among Swimming athletes on GOAT Rank and 242nd of 2289 across every sport in the index. The published GOAT Score of 87.3 is the weighted result of five verified category scores: Dominance 84, Peak 92, Longevity 84, Honours 88, Statistics 90. 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 2007–2021 with 12 documented competitive seasons. The strongest single season in that series is 2019, 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 5, olympic medals 8, world championship golds 7, 100 m freestyle best 47.52.

Immediately ahead sits Tamás Darnyi on 87.3, a gap of 0.0 points. Directly behind is Vladimir Salnikov on 87.1. 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.

Nathan Adrian GOAT Score explained

Dominance84/100 · weight 25%
Measures how far Adrian stood above the field while competing. Scored 84/100 against the full Swimming cohort.
Peak92/100 · weight 20%
Rates the best sustained stretch of the career, centred on 2019. 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.
Statistics90/100 · weight 15%
Normalises the raw career numbers against everyone in the sport reporting the same metric. Scored 90/100.

Nathan Adrian — frequently asked

Is Nathan Adrian the GOAT?
Not on the current data. Nathan Adrian ranks 24th in Swimming with a GOAT Score of 87.3, behind Michael Phelps on 98.1.
What is Nathan Adrian's GOAT Score?
87.3 out of 100. It is the weighted sum of Dominance 84 (25%), Peak 92 (20%), Longevity 84 (20%), Honours 88 (20%), Statistics 90 (15%), computed from the verified career record.
Where does Nathan Adrian rank all time?
242nd of 2289 eligible athletes in the cross-sport index, and 24th within Swimming.
Nathan Adrian vs Tamás Darnyi: who ranks higher?
Nathan Adrian, on 87.3 against Tamás Darnyi's 87.3 — a margin of 0.0 points.
Compare with Phelps