- Sport
- Swimming
- Career
- 1966–1976
- Country
- 🇩🇪 Germany
- Peak
- 94.0
- Dominance
- 92.0
- Statistics
- 92.0
- Honours
- 90.0
- Longevity
- 80.0
GOAT Rank · 33
Greatest Backstrokes of all time
This ranking is led by Roland Matthes, Natalie Coughlin and Aaron Peirsol. GOAT Rank currently ranks 33 eligible Swimming backstrokes using verified career records across dominance, peak, longevity, honours and statistics.
Quick answer
According to GOAT Rank's current model, Roland Matthes ranks #1 on this list with a GOAT Score of 89.6.
How the GOAT Score is calculated →#AthleteGOAT Score
- Sport
- Swimming
- Career
- 1998–2016
- Country
- 🇺🇸 United States
- Peak
- 92.0
- Dominance
- 86.0
- Statistics
- 90.0
- Honours
- 92.0
- Longevity
- 88.0
- Sport
- Swimming
- Career
- 1999–2011
- Country
- 🇺🇸 United States
- Peak
- 94.0
- Dominance
- 90.0
- Statistics
- 90.0
- Honours
- 92.0
- Longevity
- 80.0
- Sport
- Swimming
- Career
- 1988–1996
- Country
- 🇭🇺 Hungary
- Peak
- 92.0
- Dominance
- 88.0
- Statistics
- 88.0
- Honours
- 90.0
- Longevity
- 76.0
- Sport
- Swimming
- Career
- 2013–active
- Country
- 🇺🇸 United States
- Peak
- 92.0
- Dominance
- 86.0
- Statistics
- 88.0
- Honours
- 86.0
- Longevity
- 82.0
- Sport
- Swimming
- Career
- 1994–2008
- Country
- 🇩🇪 Germany
- Peak
- 90.0
- Dominance
- 80.0
- Statistics
- 90.0
- Honours
- 86.0
- Longevity
- 88.0
- Sport
- Swimming
- Career
- 1981–1988
- Country
- 🇺🇸 United States
- Peak
- 94.0
- Dominance
- 88.0
- Statistics
- 92.0
- Honours
- 86.0
- Longevity
- 70.0
- Sport
- Swimming
- Career
- 1971–1976
- Country
- 🇺🇸 United States
- Peak
- 96.0
- Dominance
- 86.0
- Statistics
- 90.0
- Honours
- 86.0
- Longevity
- 64.0
- Sport
- Swimming
- Career
- 1997–2004
- Country
- 🇺🇸 United States
- Peak
- 92.0
- Dominance
- 86.0
- Statistics
- 86.0
- Honours
- 84.0
- Longevity
- 70.0
- Sport
- Swimming
- Career
- 2018–active
- Country
- 🇫🇷 France
- Peak
- 90.0
- Dominance
- 80.0
- Statistics
- 88.0
- Honours
- 84.0
- Longevity
- 76.0
- Sport
- Swimming
- Career
- 2018–active
- Country
- 🇮🇹 Italy
- Peak
- 94.0
- Dominance
- 84.0
- Statistics
- 88.0
- Honours
- 84.0
- Longevity
- 62.0
- Sport
- Swimming
- Career
- 2010–2018
- Country
- 🇺🇸 United States
- Peak
- 90.0
- Dominance
- 80.0
- Statistics
- 84.0
- Honours
- 86.0
- Longevity
- 70.0
- Sport
- Swimming
- Career
- 1990–2000
- Country
- 🇺🇸 United States
- Peak
- 88.0
- Dominance
- 78.0
- Statistics
- 84.0
- Honours
- 82.0
- Longevity
- 78.0
- Sport
- Swimming
- Career
- 2013–active
- Country
- 🇨🇳 China
- Peak
- 88.0
- Dominance
- 78.0
- Statistics
- 82.0
- Honours
- 82.0
- Longevity
- 78.0
- Sport
- Swimming
- Career
- 2021–active
- Country
- 🇦🇺 Australia
- Peak
- 90.0
- Dominance
- 80.0
- Statistics
- 86.0
- Honours
- 86.0
- Longevity
- 66.0
- Sport
- Swimming
- Career
- 1996–2004
- Country
- 🇦🇺 Australia
- Peak
- 88.0
- Dominance
- 76.0
- Statistics
- 84.0
- Honours
- 84.0
- Longevity
- 76.0
- Sport
- Swimming
- Career
- 1976–1984
- Country
- 🇬🇧 United Kingdom
- Peak
- 86.0
- Dominance
- 76.0
- Statistics
- 84.0
- Honours
- 80.0
- Longevity
- 76.0
- Sport
- Swimming
- Career
- 2013–2021
- Country
- 🇺🇸 United States
- Peak
- 92.0
- Dominance
- 76.0
- Statistics
- 86.0
- Honours
- 80.0
- Longevity
- 68.0
- Sport
- Swimming
- Career
- 1972–1980
- Country
- 🇧🇷 Brazil
- Peak
- 86.0
- Dominance
- 74.0
- Statistics
- 82.0
- Honours
- 80.0
- Longevity
- 78.0
- Sport
- Swimming
- Career
- 2017–active
- Country
- 🇦🇺 Australia
- Peak
- 90.0
- Dominance
- 84.0
- Statistics
- 86.0
- Honours
- 82.0
- Longevity
- 56.0
- Sport
- Swimming
- Career
- 2019–active
- Country
- 🇺🇸 United States
- Peak
- 90.0
- Dominance
- 76.0
- Statistics
- 86.0
- Honours
- 82.0
- Longevity
- 66.0
- Sport
- Swimming
- Career
- 2014–active
- Country
- 🇨🇦 Canada
- Peak
- 86.0
- Dominance
- 74.0
- Statistics
- 84.0
- Honours
- 78.0
- Longevity
- 78.0
- Sport
- Swimming
- Career
- 2019–active
- Country
- 🇺🇸 United States
- Peak
- 88.0
- Dominance
- 76.0
- Statistics
- 86.0
- Honours
- 82.0
- Longevity
- 66.0
- Sport
- Swimming
- Career
- 2019–active
- Country
- 🇺🇸 United States
- Peak
- 88.0
- Dominance
- 76.0
- Statistics
- 86.0
- Honours
- 80.0
- Longevity
- 68.0
- Sport
- Swimming
- Career
- 2008–2021
- Country
- 🇯🇵 Japan
- Peak
- 84.0
- Dominance
- 74.0
- Statistics
- 78.0
- Honours
- 76.0
- Longevity
- 84.0
- Sport
- Swimming
- Career
- 2015–active
- Country
- 🇦🇺 Australia
- Peak
- 92.0
- Dominance
- 74.0
- Statistics
- 88.0
- Honours
- 74.0
- Longevity
- 68.0
- Sport
- Swimming
- Career
- 1977–1984
- Country
- 🇸🇪 Sweden
- Peak
- 90.0
- Dominance
- 78.0
- Statistics
- 82.0
- Honours
- 80.0
- Longevity
- 62.0
- Sport
- Swimming
- Career
- 1977–1986
- Country
- 🇷🇴 Romania
- Peak
- 86.0
- Dominance
- 72.0
- Statistics
- 84.0
- Honours
- 78.0
- Longevity
- 74.0
- Sport
- Swimming
- Career
- 2019–active
- Country
- 🇺🇸 United States
- Peak
- 88.0
- Dominance
- 72.0
- Statistics
- 86.0
- Honours
- 76.0
- Longevity
- 66.0
- Sport
- Swimming
- Career
- 2000–2012
- Country
- 🇺🇸 United States
- Peak
- 86.0
- Dominance
- 68.0
- Statistics
- 84.0
- Honours
- 72.0
- Longevity
- 76.0
- Sport
- Swimming
- Career
- 1995–2004
- Country
- 🇺🇸 United States
- Peak
- 86.0
- Dominance
- 68.0
- Statistics
- 84.0
- Honours
- 72.0
- Longevity
- 74.0
- Sport
- Swimming
- Career
- 1997–2008
- Country
- 🇮🇸 Iceland
- Peak
- 82.0
- Dominance
- 66.0
- Statistics
- 74.0
- Honours
- 72.0
- Longevity
- 78.0
- Sport
- Swimming
- Career
- 2009–2017
- Country
- 🇨🇦 Canada
- Peak
- 82.0
- Dominance
- 68.0
- Statistics
- 74.0
- Honours
- 74.0
- Longevity
- 68.0
| # | Athlete | Sport | Country | Career | GOAT Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 9 | Roland Matthes | Swimming | 🇩🇪 Germany | 1966–1976 | 89.6 |
| 11 | Natalie Coughlin | Swimming | 🇺🇸 United States | 1998–2016 | 89.4 |
| 13 | Aaron Peirsol | Swimming | 🇺🇸 United States | 1999–2011 | 89.2 |
| 38 | Krisztina Egerszegi | Swimming | 🇭🇺 Hungary | 1988–1996 | 86.8 |
| 42 | Ryan Murphy | Swimming | 🇺🇸 United States | 2013–active | 86.7 |
| 50 | Antje Buschschulte | Swimming | 🇩🇪 Germany | 1994–2008 | 86.3 |
| 55 | Rick Carey | Swimming | 🇺🇸 United States | 1981–1988 | 85.8 |
| 77 | Melissa Belote | Swimming | 🇺🇸 United States | 1971–1976 | 84.2 |
| 89 | Lenny Krayzelburg | Swimming | 🇺🇸 United States | 1997–2004 | 83.6 |
| 99 | Yohann Ndoye-Brouard | Swimming | 🇫🇷 France | 2018–active | 83.2 |
| 121 | Thomas Ceccon | Swimming | 🇮🇹 Italy | 2018–active | 82.2 |
| 126 | Missy Franklin | Swimming | 🇺🇸 United States | 2010–2018 | 81.8 |
| 132 | Barbara Bedford | Swimming | 🇺🇸 United States | 1990–2000 | 81.7 |
| 145 | Xu Jiayu | Swimming | 🇨🇳 China | 2013–active | 81.4 |
| 148 | Iona Anderson | Swimming | 🇦🇺 Australia | 2021–active | 81.3 |
| 149 | Dyana Calub | Swimming | 🇦🇺 Australia | 1996–2004 | 81.2 |
| 177 | Gary Abraham | Swimming | 🇬🇧 United Kingdom | 1976–1984 | 80.0 |
| 178 | Kathleen Baker | Swimming | 🇺🇸 United States | 2013–2021 | 79.9 |
| 188 | Rômulo Arantes | Swimming | 🇧🇷 Brazil | 1972–1980 | 79.6 |
| 189 | Kaylee McKeown | Swimming | 🇦🇺 Australia | 2017–active | 79.5 |
| 191 | Hunter Armstrong | Swimming | 🇺🇸 United States | 2019–active | 79.5 |
| 193 | Javier Acevedo | Swimming | 🇨🇦 Canada | 2014–active | 79.5 |
| 197 | Katharine Berkoff | Swimming | 🇺🇸 United States | 2019–active | 79.1 |
| 199 | Jack Aikins | Swimming | 🇺🇸 United States | 2019–active | 79.1 |
| 201 | Ryosuke Irie | Swimming | 🇯🇵 Japan | 2008–2021 | 79.0 |
| 211 | Minna Atherton | Swimming | 🇦🇺 Australia | 2015–active | 78.5 |
| 219 | Bengt Baron | Swimming | 🇸🇪 Sweden | 1977–1984 | 78.2 |
| 221 | Carmen Bunaciu | Swimming | 🇷🇴 Romania | 1977–1986 | 78.2 |
| 236 | Phoebe Bacon | Swimming | 🇺🇸 United States | 2019–active | 76.9 |
| 239 | Randall Bal | Swimming | 🇺🇸 United States | 2000–2012 | 76.4 |
| 246 | James Carter | Swimming | 🇺🇸 United States | 1995–2004 | 76.0 |
| 258 | Örn Arnarson | Swimming | 🇮🇸 Iceland | 1997–2008 | 74.0 |
| 261 | Hilary Caldwell | Swimming | 🇨🇦 Canada | 2009–2017 | 72.9 |
Compare the leaders
Roland Matthes vs Natalie CoughlinRead the full methodology
Sport lists use the raw In-Sport GOAT Score. Cross-sport lists use the official competition-depth adjustment. No scores are recalculated for this page.
Read the full methodologyFrequently asked questions
How is this ranking calculated?
Five verified components are weighted consistently: dominance, peak, longevity, honours and statistics.
Who is included?
According to GOAT Rank's current data model, only verified athletes with sufficient career history, metrics, honours and independent sources are eligible. Rank and score are read live.
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