GGOATRANK

GOAT Rank · 267

Greatest Swimming athletes of all time

This ranking uses verified career records and GOAT Rank's published model. Every listed athlete clears the data eligibility threshold.

#AthleteGOAT Score
Sport
Swimming
Career
20042021
Country
🇺🇸 United States
Peak
88.0
Dominance
82.0
Statistics
88.0
Honours
88.0
Longevity
86.0
Athlete: Ryan Lochte
Sport
Swimming
Career
19811988
Country
🇺🇸 United States
Peak
94.0
Dominance
88.0
Statistics
92.0
Honours
86.0
Longevity
70.0
Athlete: Rick Carey
Sport
Swimming
Career
19561964
Country
🇦🇺 Australia
Peak
92.0
Dominance
88.0
Statistics
88.0
Honours
86.0
Longevity
74.0
Athlete: Murray Rose
Sport
Swimming
Career
19972012
Country
🇦🇺 Australia
Peak
92.0
Dominance
86.0
Statistics
88.0
Honours
88.0
Longevity
74.0
Athlete: Ian Thorpe
Sport
Swimming
Career
19982012
Country
🇺🇸 United States
Peak
94.0
Dominance
82.0
Statistics
84.0
Honours
84.0
Longevity
82.0
Athlete: Jason Lezak
Sport
Swimming
Career
19841992
Country
🇺🇸 United States
Peak
92.0
Dominance
84.0
Statistics
88.0
Honours
88.0
Longevity
74.0
Athlete: Matt Biondi
Sport
Swimming
Career
2013active
Country
🇨🇳 China
Peak
92.0
Dominance
82.0
Statistics
86.0
Honours
86.0
Longevity
80.0
Athlete: Zhang Yufei
Sport
Swimming
Career
19671972
Country
🇺🇸 United States
Peak
94.0
Dominance
88.0
Statistics
88.0
Honours
86.0
Longevity
66.0
Athlete: Debbie Meyer
Sport
Swimming
Career
19841992
Country
🇺🇸 United States
Peak
90.0
Dominance
84.0
Statistics
86.0
Honours
84.0
Longevity
76.0
Athlete: Tom Jager
Sport
Swimming
Career
2017active
Country
🇨🇳 China
Peak
94.0
Dominance
86.0
Statistics
86.0
Honours
82.0
Longevity
70.0
Athlete: Qin Haiyang
Sport
Swimming
Career
19962008
Country
🇺🇸 United States
Peak
88.0
Dominance
80.0
Statistics
82.0
Honours
82.0
Longevity
86.0
Athlete: Amanda Beard

Compare the leaders

Michael Phelps vs Katie Ledecky

Read 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 methodology

Frequently asked questions

How is this ranking calculated?

Five verified components are weighted consistently: dominance, peak, longevity, honours and statistics.

Who is included?

Only verified athletes with sufficient career history, metrics, honours and independent sources are eligible.

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