- Sport
- Swimming
- Career
- 2013–active
- Country
- 🇳🇱 Netherlands
- Peak
- 86.0
- Dominance
- 68.0
- Statistics
- 84.0
- Honours
- 74.0
- Longevity
- 76.0
GOAT Rank · 57
Greatest Freestyles of all time
This ranking is led by Katie Ledecky, Ragnhild Hveger and Franziska van Almsick. GOAT Rank currently ranks 57 eligible Swimming freestyles using verified career records across dominance, peak, longevity, honours and statistics.
Quick answer
According to GOAT Rank's current model, Katie Ledecky ranks #1 on this list with a GOAT Score of 94.8.
How the GOAT Score is calculated →#AthleteGOAT Score
- Sport
- Swimming
- Career
- 1970–1980
- Country
- 🇮🇹 Italy
- Peak
- 82.0
- Dominance
- 70.0
- Statistics
- 80.0
- Honours
- 76.0
- Longevity
- 76.0
- Sport
- Swimming
- Career
- 1986–1992
- Country
- 🇩🇪 Germany
- Peak
- 82.0
- Dominance
- 70.0
- Statistics
- 80.0
- Honours
- 76.0
- Longevity
- 72.0
- Sport
- Swimming
- Career
- 2008–2014
- Country
- 🇺🇸 United States
- Peak
- 82.0
- Dominance
- 70.0
- Statistics
- 80.0
- Honours
- 76.0
- Longevity
- 72.0
- Sport
- Swimming
- Career
- 1978–1984
- Country
- 🇩🇪 West Germany
- Peak
- 82.0
- Dominance
- 70.0
- Statistics
- 80.0
- Honours
- 76.0
- Longevity
- 72.0
- Sport
- Swimming
- Career
- 2016–2022
- Country
- 🇺🇸 United States
- Peak
- 88.0
- Dominance
- 68.0
- Statistics
- 82.0
- Honours
- 74.0
- Longevity
- 62.0
- Sport
- Swimming
- Career
- 2019–active
- Country
- 🇷🇴 Romania
- Peak
- 86.0
- Dominance
- 72.0
- Statistics
- 80.0
- Honours
- 70.0
- Longevity
- 46.0
| # | Athlete | Sport | Country | Career | GOAT Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 237 | Kim Busch | Swimming | 🇳🇱 Netherlands | 2013–active | 76.8 |
| 240 | Paolo Barelli | Swimming | 🇮🇹 Italy | 1970–1980 | 76.3 |
| 250 | Chris-Carol Bremer | Swimming | 🇩🇪 Germany | 1986–1992 | 75.5 |
| 251 | Karlee Bispo | Swimming | 🇺🇸 United States | 2008–2014 | 75.5 |
| 253 | Gudrun Beckmann | Swimming | 🇩🇪 West Germany | 1978–1984 | 75.5 |
| 257 | Zach Apple | Swimming | 🇺🇸 United States | 2016–2022 | 74.1 |
| 266 | David Popovici | Swimming | 🇷🇴 Romania | 2019–active | 70.4 |
Compare the leaders
Katie Ledecky vs Ragnhild HvegerRead 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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