SwimSwam’s Official 2024 Swammy Awards Index
2024 ASIAN FEMALE OF THE YEAR: TANG QIANTING (CHN)
After impressive performances at the 2024 Olympic Games as well as at this year’s Long Course World Championships and Short Course World Championships, 20-year-old Tang Qianting of China is our Asian Female of the Year Swammy Award winner.
Tang represents our third winner in a row hailing from the nation of China, following in the footsteps of Li Bingjie and Zhang Yufei.
At the World Aquatics Championships in Doha, Qatar in February, Tang earned 50m breast silver and 100m breast gold, establishing a new national record of 1:05.27 in the latter event. She became China’s first Worlds gold medalist in the race in over 20 years with her result taking down Ji Liping‘s 2009 super-suited Chinese national record of 1:05.32.
Riding that momentum, Tang earned Olympic silver in the 100m breast in Paris, producing another speedy time of 1:05.54 to fall just .26 shy of gold.
She also helped China’s women’s 4x100m medley relay land on the podium with bronze, as well as raced as a prelims swimmer to contribute to China’s gold medal-winning mixed medley relay.
Not resting on her laurels, Tang was a two-time individual medalist at the Short Course World Championships in Budapest. She snagged 50m breast silver but grabbed 100m breast gold while also earning bronze on the Chinese women’s 4x100m medley relay.
She won the 100m breast in a time of 1:02.38 but her semi-finals performance was a fingernail quicker in 1:02.37. That was especially eye-popping as she narrowly missed breaking a world record that had been on the books for more than 11 years. Her time checked in as the 4th-fastest swim in history and broke her own Asian and Chinese Record of 1:02.53, set at the Shanghai stop of the 2024 World Cup in October.
Speaking of the World Cup, Tang finished 4th in the overall money standings with only Hong Kong’s Haughey ranking one slot ahead as the top money-earning Asian swimmer.
On the circuit, Tang remarkably repeated as both 50m breast and 100m breast champion across all three stops.
HONORABLE MENTIONS
- Siobhan Haughey (HKG) – Already a three-time winner of this Swammy award, Hong Kong’s Siobhan Haughey settles for an honorable mention this time around. She had a successful 2024, beginning in Doha where she earned 100m free silver, 200m free gold and 100m breast bronze as a testament to her versatility. The former University of Michigan star landed on the podium with bronze in both the 100m and 200m freestyle events in Paris and continued her impressive swimming by winning the 100m free across 2 stops and the 200m free across 3 stops of the 2024 World Aquatics Swimming World Cup. She capped off her 2024 by grabbing 200m free gold at the Short Course World Championships.
- Zhang Yufei (CHN) – 26-year-old Zhang Yufei collected an incredible six Olympic medals in Paris, making her the most decorated swimmer on both the men’s and women’s sides. She bagged individual bronzes in the 100m and 200m fly events and also helped China take mixed medley silver, women’s 400m free relay bronze and women’s medley bronze. Zhang opted out of this year’s World Championships and also did not compete in the World Cup Series which tipped the award in Tang’s favor.
PREVIOUS WINNERS
- 2023 – Zhang Yufei, China
- 2022 – Li Bingjie, China
- 2021 – Siobhan Haughey, Hong Kong
- 2020 – Siobhan Haughey, Hong Kong
- 2019 – Siobhan Haughey, Hong Kong
- 2018 – Rikako Ikee, Japan
- 2017 – Li Bingjie, China
- 2016 – Rie Kaneto, Japan
- 2015 – Kanako Watanabe, Japan
- 2014 – Ye Shiwen, China
- 2013 – Aya Terakawa, Japan
Also, you forgot Yufei’s 50 free bronze.