Category profile
- Dominance
- 88
- Peak
- 92
- Longevity
- 80
- Honours
- 86
- Statistics
- 90
Career timeline · Form index per season
| Season | Form index per season | Share of career |
|---|---|---|
| 1977 | 1 | |
| 1978 | 3 | |
| 1979 | 4 | |
| 1980 | 3 | |
| 1981 | 3 | |
| 1982 | 3 | |
| 1983 | 2 | |
| 1984 | 2 | |
| 1985 | 1 | |
| 1986 | 1 | |
| 1987 | 2 | |
| 1988 | 2 |
Data sources
- World Aquatics
- Olympedia
- IOC
Figures come from public records and are normalised per sport. See the methodology for category weights. Method
Why Vladimir Salnikov ranks #14 in Swimming
Vladimir Salnikov ranks 14th among Swimming athletes on GOAT Rank and 273rd of 1063 across every sport in the index. The published GOAT Score of 87.1 is the weighted result of five verified category scores: Dominance 88, Peak 92, Longevity 80, Honours 86, Statistics 90. 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 1976–1988 with 12 documented competitive seasons. The strongest single season in that series is 1979, 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, world records 12, world titles 4, european titles 5.
Immediately ahead sits Grant Hackett on 86.2, a gap of -0.9 points. Directly behind is Emma McKeon on 87.0. 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.
Vladimir Salnikov GOAT Score explained
- Dominance88/100 · weight 25%
- Measures how far Salnikov 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 1979. Scored 92/100.
- Longevity80/100 · weight 20%
- Rewards staying at that level over time: 12 years of competition and 12 recorded seasons. Scored 80/100.
- Honours86/100 · weight 20%
- Counts documented titles, majors and awards in the verified record. Scored 86/100.
- Statistics90/100 · weight 15%
- Normalises the raw career numbers against everyone in the sport reporting the same metric. Scored 90/100.
Top Salnikov comparisons
Vladimir Salnikov — frequently asked
- Is Vladimir Salnikov the GOAT?
- Not on the current data. Vladimir Salnikov ranks 14th in Swimming with a GOAT Score of 87.1, behind Michael Phelps on 98.1.
- What is Vladimir Salnikov's GOAT Score?
- 87.1 out of 100. It is the weighted sum of Dominance 88 (25%), Peak 92 (20%), Longevity 80 (20%), Honours 86 (20%), Statistics 90 (15%), computed from the verified career record.
- Where does Vladimir Salnikov rank all time?
- 273rd of 1063 eligible athletes in the cross-sport index, and 14th within Swimming.
- Vladimir Salnikov vs Grant Hackett: who ranks higher?
- Vladimir Salnikov, on 87.1 against Grant Hackett's 86.2 — a margin of 0.9 points.