Category profile
- Dominance
- 88
- Peak
- 94
- Longevity
- 70
- Honours
- 86
- Statistics
- 92
Career timeline · Form index per season
| Season | Form index per season | Share of career |
|---|---|---|
| 1981 | 50 | |
| 1982 | 66 | |
| 1983 | 82 | |
| 1984 | 98 | |
| 1985 | 87 | |
| 1986 | 77 | |
| 1987 | 66 | |
| 1988 | 55 |
Data sources
- World Aquatics records
- Olympedia
- Swimming Hall of Fame
Figures come from public records and are normalised per sport. See the methodology for category weights. Method
Why Rick Carey ranks #55 in Swimming
Rick Carey ranks 55th among Swimming athletes on GOAT Rank and 684th of 4013 across every sport in the index. The published GOAT Score of 85.8 is the weighted result of five verified category scores: Dominance 88, Peak 94, Longevity 70, Honours 86, 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 1981–1988 with 8 documented competitive seasons. The strongest single season in that series is 1984, 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 3, world records set 5, world championship titles 1, pan pacific titles 2.
Immediately ahead sits Leisel Jones on 85.8, a gap of 0.0 points. Directly behind is Murray Rose on 85.6. 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.
Rick Carey GOAT Score explained
- Dominance88/100 · weight 25%
- Measures how far Carey stood above the field while competing. Scored 88/100 against the full Swimming cohort.
- Peak94/100 · weight 20%
- Rates the best sustained stretch of the career, centred on 1984. Scored 94/100.
- Longevity70/100 · weight 20%
- Rewards staying at that level over time: 7 years of competition and 8 recorded seasons. Scored 70/100.
- Honours86/100 · weight 20%
- Counts documented titles, majors and awards in the verified record. Scored 86/100.
- Statistics92/100 · weight 15%
- Normalises the raw career numbers against everyone in the sport reporting the same metric. Scored 92/100.
Top Carey comparisons
Rick Carey — frequently asked
- Is Rick Carey the GOAT?
- Not on the current data. Rick Carey ranks 55th in Swimming with a GOAT Score of 85.8, behind Michael Phelps on 98.1.
- What is Rick Carey's GOAT Score?
- 85.8 out of 100. It is the weighted sum of Dominance 88 (25%), Peak 94 (20%), Longevity 70 (20%), Honours 86 (20%), Statistics 92 (15%), computed from the verified career record.
- Where does Rick Carey rank all time?
- 684th of 4013 eligible athletes in the cross-sport index, and 55th within Swimming.
- Rick Carey vs Leisel Jones: who ranks higher?
- Rick Carey, on 85.8 against Leisel Jones's 85.8 — a margin of 0.0 points.