With a loaded events calendar that included the NCAA Championships, LC World Championships, US Olympic Trials, European Championships, Olympic Games, and SC World Championships, there was no shortage of fast racing in 2024. There were 9 LCM World Records and 40 SCM set throughout the year, marking one of the fastest years for the sport since the super-suit era in 2009.
With that in mind, it was hard to narrow down the top swims of 2024 to only 10 races, but we certainly tried. Before we start, let’s take a look at a few honorable mentions that fell just off of this list:
Honorable Mentions:
Men’s 200 IM Final – 2024 Olympic Games
This race just missed the cut-off simply due to the sheer volume of incredible races that occurred this year. Coming into the Olympics, Leon Marchand was favored to win multiple medals in front of a home crowd, and man did he ever. The 200 IM was Marchand’s final individual event of the Games, closing out a historical week that saw him bring home 4 individual gold medals. In the 200 IM final, Marchand was dominant, winning the race in a time of 1:54.06 to break Michael Phelps’ Olympic Record of 1:54.23 from the 2008 supersuit era. Marchand was extremely close to shattering Ryan Lochte’s long-standing World Record of 1:54.00 as well, just missing the mark by .04.
Women’s 4×100 Medley Relay – 2024 SC World Championships
Leading off the relay for the US women, Regan Smith posted a monster 54.02 in the 100 backstroke to take over .2 off of her own World Record of 54.27 set just a couple of weeks before in Singapore. Then, Lilly King threw down a solid 1:03.02 to hand it off to Gretchen Walsh for the butterfly leg. Walsh dropped the fastest butterfly split in history with a 52.84, giving Kate Douglass a wide lead going into the final leg. Douglass brought it home for the US women in a 50.53 to touch the wall in a final time of 3:40.41, annihilating the World Record of 3:44.35 by over 3 seconds.
Women’s 200 Breaststroke Final – 2024 World Cup: Singapore
If the Olympics hadn’t happened in 2024, this race would likely rank a lot higher on this list. Despite being slightly overshadowed by its LCM counterparts, Kate Douglass’ 200 breaststroke World Record from the 2024 World Cup in Singapore certainly deserves a shoutout. Before the Singapore stop of the World Cup, Douglass had already shattered Rebecca Soni’s long-standing World Record of 2:14.57 at the previous stop of the series in Incheon with a 2:14.16. However, her performance in Singapore sent waves through the swimming community as she touched the wall in a time of 2:12.72, becoming the first swimmer to go sub-2:13 in the race. Remarkably, she later reset that record at the 2024 SC World Championships with a 2:12.50.
Women’s 100 Freestyle Final – 2024 Olympic Games
Though the times weren’t necessarily as fast as one might expect given the field, the women’s 100 freestyle at the Olympic Games was one of the best examples of pure “racing” in 2024. Heading into Paris, this seemed like a clear 1-2 for the Australian women, with swimmers like Siobhán Haughey and Yang Junxuan poised to make a run at disrupting that flow. Then, Swedish star and World Record holder Sarah Sjostrom announced her last-minute decision to swim the race, adding to the mix. With the swimmers tightly positioned through the prelims and semi-finals, the finals kicked off with Sjostrom out like a rocket. With the field moving up on her, Sjostrom held on for the victory at the touch to win her first Olympic title in the event. In a shocking finish, American Torri Huske claimed the silver, with Haughey hitting the wall for bronze to mark an Aussie shutout by .01 ahead of Mollie O’Callaghan.
Now, here’s the list of SwimSwam’s Top 10 Races of the Year (Meter’s Edition)
10. Men’s 4×200 Freestyle Relay Final/Luke Hobson’s 1:38 Lead-Off – 2024 SC World Championships
This race had it all, with the US team of Luke Hobson, Carson Foster, Shaine Casas, and Kieran Smith throwing down an unbelievable World Record of 6:40.51, slicing nearly 4 seconds off of the previous mark of 6:44.12. To top it off, Hobson led off the race in an eye-popping 1:38.91, taking nearly a half-second off of Paul Biedermann’s World Record of 1:39.37, becoming the first swimmer to ever break the 1:39 barrier. At the time, Biedermann’s record was the oldest SCM World Record on the books, set in the super suit era of 2009. Hobson would actually go faster in the individual 200 freestyle, resetting his World Record with a 1:38.61 to win gold. Though both performances were equally impressive, the initial shock of this record gives it a slight edge, especially when paired with a dominant relay win.
9. Women’s 200 Freestyle Final – 2024 AUS Olympic Trials
One thing is certain: the Australian women are really good at freestyle. With World Record holder Mollie O’Callaghan facing-off against 400m free World Record holder Ariarne Titmus, the 200 freestyle at the Australian Olympic Trials was slated to be one of the top races of the meet. The race met, and then exceeded expectations, however, with Titmus and O’Callaghan pushing each other under the World Record line. Both Titmus and O’Callaghan touched well under O’Callaghan’s existing WR of 1:52.85 from 2023, with Titmus leading the way in 1:52.23 to O’Callaghan’s 1:52.48. With their 1-2 finish, the pair punched their tickets to Paris in a big way.
8. Women’s 400 Freestyle Final – 2024 Olympic Games
In one of the most anticipated matchups of the entire Olympics, the previous three World Record holders in the women’s 400 freestyle all went head-to-head in Paris. Going into the meet, Canadian Summer McIntosh had shattered Ariarne Titmus’ World Record in the event, swimming a 3:56.08 back in early 2023. Titmus then took that record back at the 2023 World Championships, dropping a 3:55.38 for gold. With American Katie Ledecky in the mix, the line-up was even more exciting as the distance ace appeared to be in great form at the US Olympic Trials. In Paris, all three swimmers took the race out hard, with Titmus leading by 200 meters with McIntosh right on her tail. Struggling to get out with her normal speed, Ledecky was relatively quiet, hanging in a tight battle for third. Over the final 100 meters, McIntosh began to fade and Titmus ran away with the win, hitting the wall in a time of 3:57.49 for the gold. McIntosh settled for silver in 3:58.37, and Ledecky held on for the bronze in 4:00.86. Though all three were significantly off of their best times, the race still proved to be one of the most exciting of the meet, with the three top swimmers all going after one gold.
7. Women’s 400 IM – 2024 SC World Championships
Deciding whether to include Summer McIntosh’s performance in this race or her World Record in the LCM version of the same event was certainly a tough call. However, McIntosh’s performance at the World Championships was stunning, putting her leagues ahead of some of the best swimmers in the world, giving this race a slight edge. At SC Worlds, McIntosh won the 400 IM in a shocking time of 4:15.48, slicing over 3 seconds off of the 7-year-old World Record in the process. Before McIntosh’s swim, Mireia Belmonte Garcia’s previous record stood at 4:18.94. In addition to breaking the World Record with her swim (her 3rd of the meet), McIntosh also took down the field by almost 5 seconds, leading the entire race in a dominant performance.
6. Men’s 200 Butterfly – 2024 Olympic Games
Another day, another Leon Marchand gold medal race. However, this gold was not nearly as expected as some of his other medals. Shortly before winning the 200 breaststroke in Olympic Record fashion, Marchand ran down defending Olympic Champion and World Record holder Kristof Milak in the 200 butterfly, claiming his second gold medal of the competition in his first final of the session. Marchand overcame his deficit to Milak over the final 50 meters with a huge 28.97 closing split, hitting the wall in a new European and Olympic Record of 1:51.21. The swim surprised many fans who did not expect him to win the event; even we here at SwimSwam picked Marchand to win the silver medal, making his surprise gold even more notable as he brought the crowd in La Defense arena to its feet. Marchand had several great races in Paris, but this was his closest and most intense of all, making it stand out above its counterparts.
5. Women’s 100 Butterfly – 2024 SC World Championships
We might be cheating with this one, however, accounting for all three rounds of action, Gretchen Walsh had a memorable performance in the 100 butterfly at SC Worlds. After an explosive summer in which she broke the World Record in the LCM version of the 100 butterfly (more on that below), all eyes were on Gretchen Walsh when she entered the water for the event at the 2024 SC World Championships. Walsh certainly did not disappoint, taking almost a second off of the World Record in prelims (53.24), becoming the first woman under 54 seconds in the race. That was before posting a 52.87 in the semis to become the first woman under 53 seconds. Walsh went on to win the World title in a dazzling 52.71, resetting the World Record for a third time, becoming the first swimmer to reset a world record in the prelims, semis, and finals of the same event.
4. Women’s 4×100 Medley Relay – 2024 Olympic Games
The US struggled in many areas in Paris, with the women failing to win a single relay through the final day of competition. However, when they did, the US women stepped up in a major way, with the team of Regan Smith, Lilly King, Gretchen Walsh, and Torri Huske demolishing the World Record in the 4×100 medley relay to claim gold and the World Record in a time of 3:49.63. With that performance, the team took nearly a second off of their own World Record of 3:50.40, winning the race over the Aussies by 3.5 seconds. Smith led off for the Americans in a time of 57.28, taking down the Olympic Record in the 100 backstroke with a time that would have won the gold medal. King split 1:04.90 to hand it off to Walsh, who then split 55.03 on the butterfly leg, one of the fastest splits in history. Huske closed in 52.42 for the Americans, topping off a busy week of swimming action.
3. Women’s 100 Butterfly Final – 2024 Olympic Games
In one of the closest races of the competition, newly minted World Record holder Gretchen Walsh was out like a rocket through the first 50 meters. Walsh, the heavy favorite to win gold, looked primed to do so with only 75 meters left of racing. However, her American teammate Torri Huske had a different idea, running down Walsh over the closing meters of the race to touch first in a time of 55.59 and Walsh coming in close behind at 55.63. For Huske, the race marked a milestone as she previously finished 4th in the event back in 2021, with this marking the first individual Olympic medal of her career. In a great moment of unity and sportsmanship, the two swimmers later stood atop the podium together during the medal ceremony, as Huske invited Walsh to the top step for the National Anthem.
2. Men’s 1500 Freestyle Final – 2024 Olympic Games
The battle for the top spot was certainly close, however, Bobby Finke’s World Record in the 1500 freestyle at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games falls as our 2nd best race of the year. Following a disappointing finish in the 800 freestyle final a few days earlier, Finke was on a mission in the 1500, swimming a gutsy race from the start. Known more for his back-half speed, Finke took this race out hard, gaining the early lead well ahead of the field. While Italian counterpart Gregorio Paltrinieri attempted to close on Finke in the final 500 meters, Finke held on. With 50 meters left in the race, it was clear that Finke was going to win, but fans began to cheer as he tracked down Sun Yang‘s World Record mark of 14:31.02. Closing with his signature speed, it was close at the touch, but Finke ultimately took down the record with a time of 14:30.67 for the gold.
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1. Men’s 100 Freestyle Final – 2024 Olympic Games
With doubts about the speed of the Olympic pool due to a lack of World Records and “fast” swims through the first few days of the meet, the Paris 2024 Games looked as if they might end without a single individual World Record in swimming. However, Pan Zhanle single-handedly settled those doubts, exploding for a massive World Record of 46.40 to win the 100 freestyle over a loaded field by a 1-second margin, one of the largest in modern Olympic history. Zhanle previously set the World Record in the event with his winning time of 46.80 from the 2024 World Championships, making his .4 second drop off of that mark a massive improvement over such a short distance. In fact, over the 100-meter race, Zhanle was over a body length ahead, marking utter dominance for the young Chinese athlete. For this dominance, and the shock of the time, we have officially named Zhanle’s 100 freestyle as the race of the year.
Imagine telling someone in 2020 that a 4:02 4 IM wouldn’t event get an HM…
The W 200 im in Paris is easily the best race of 2024. 4 lead changes, 4 racers battling, all 4 strokes. What are we doing here?
As good and exciting as the women’s 100 fly was in Paris, I think GW’s world record swim in semis at US Trials topped it. Totally unexpected and electrifying.
Also had Huske and Smith becoming the 3rd and 5th fastest performer even
Finke’s 1500m final should be no.1.
Absolutely not
Crooks’ 50 free surely must be up there. Breaking the 20s barrier is such an iconic swim
Article needs correcting.
Pan initially set the WR in the 2024 World’s, not 2023.
No mention of Crook’s sub-20 50 free???
The women’s 200 free at Australian trials should be on top:
1. fierce battle between Arnie and Mollie
2. Both under the old WR.
3. Insane times.
The pool being 2m makes it even more impressive.