SwimSwam’s Top 100 For 2025: Men’s #30-21

After an unprecedented year of racing that included the Olympics sandwiched between the Long Course and Short Course World Championships, it’s time to start releasing our fifth annual Top 100 list—check out last year’s rankings here.

As in previous years, we’ve taken a statistically driven approach primarily reliant upon world rankings and medals won at the Olympics and, to a lesser extent, Short Course Worlds and the 2024 Worlds in Doha. We’ve also accounted for factors like potential, future medal opportunities, injuries, and versatility. Long course is weighted more heavily than short course, though performance potential in both formats is factored in.

After a large contingent of Russian and Belarusian swimmers raced at Short Course Worlds in December, those swimmers have started to move back up the rankings after they were low on the lists last year due to lack of competition.

We’ll be breaking down the top 100 into multiple installments, so keep an eye out as they’re released.

These lists are, by nature, subjective. If you disagree, leave your thoughts/ranks in the comments.

Thank you to Daniel Takata for his help with the data and compiling the rankings. 

Men’s Rankings:

• #100 – #91
• #90 – #81
• #80 – #71
• #70 – #61
• #60 – #51
• #50 – #41
• #40 – #31
• #30 – #21
• #20 – #11
• #10 – #1

#30: Shaine Casas, USA (2024 Rank: 36) – Casas has always been hard to read when it comes to how he’ll perform at the most important meets of the year. His talent is unquestionable, but inconsistency has always been part of the conversation. Last year he was a fixture on the international stage for the U.S., racing at LC Worlds, the Olympics and SC Worlds with mixed results. He won three relay medals and placed 5th in the 200 IM in Doha, and then qualified for the U.S. Olympic team at the Trials in the 200 IM, clocking 1:55.83 in the final. He went on to miss the Olympic final in Paris, placing 9th in the semis (1:57.82), but rebounded with a strong showing at SC Worlds, winning gold with a new American Record in the 200 IM (1:49.51) and adding four relay medals. He also went 48.9 in the 100 back and 1:40.8 in the 200 free on relay lead-offs, showing progression in some other events. With Bob Bowman taking over at Texas, Casas stands to benefit in a big way. In addition to being 1:55-low in the 200 IM, he’s been 50-mid in the 100 fly, two events Bowman knows how to get the most out of a swimmer in.

#29: Cameron McEvoy, Australia (2024 Rank: 13) – McEvoy’s career resurgence came to a head last summer in Paris, and he delivered when it mattered most, winning gold in the men’s 50 free for an Olympic redemption of sorts after he faltered as the 100 free favorite back in 2016. Although the 30-year-old has established himself as the best 50 freestyler in the world, it stands to reason he’ll take his foot off the gas coming off the high of an Olympic breakthrough. However, if he’s all in, it’s hard not to pencil him in as the 50 free favorite in Singapore.

#28: Adam Peaty, Great Britain (2024 Rank: 64) – Peaty got his mojo back last year, and although it didn’t result in a third straight Olympic title in the men’s 100 breast, he did win silver in the event, something that not many predicted entering 2024. Arguably even more impressive than the Olympic silver was the fact that Peaty was the fastest man in the world last year and the only one under 58 seconds, clocking 57.94 at the British Trials in April. Peaty also won bronze at the 2024 Worlds and took 4th in the 50 breast. Now at a new training home, a rejuvenated Peaty is a dual threat at the 2025 Worlds in the sprint breast events.

#27: Luke Hobson, USA (2024 Rank: 85) – Hobson has consistently been rising through the ranks on the international stage in the 200 free, and at least in the short course pool, has taken over the top spot globally in the event. He was 5th in the 200 free at the 2023 Worlds, claimed bronze at the Doha Worlds early last year, and then won bronze at the Olympic Games, setting a personal best of 1:44.79—a time that ranked 6th in the world last year. The University of Texas star then put his short course abilities on display in December, first breaking Paul Biedermann’s super-suited world record in the 200 free on the lead-off leg of the U.S. 4×200 free relay in 1:38.91 before re-lowering it to 1:38.61 in the individual final. The 21-year-old won’t have a chance to defend the SC world title until 2026, but if he continues to progress in long course, it’s easy to see a 1:43 in the cards at LC Worlds. His only knock in this type of ranking is that he doesn’t have a true top-tier second event in LCM. He ranked tied for 71st last year in the 100 free in 48.50.

#26: Jack Alexy, USA (2024 Rank: 18) – After really making a name for himself on the global stage at the 2023 World Championships, Alexy won the first two Olympic medals of his career in Paris, though both were on relays. His headlining swim of the year came at the U.S. Olympic Trials, where he moved in a tie for #8 all-time in the 100 free in a time of 47.08. At the 2023 Worlds, he came up clutch in the final to win silver, but at the Olympics, Alexy ended up 7th in 47.96 after going 47.57 in the heats and 47.68 in the semis. Now 22, Alexy has the tools to be a sub-47 swimmer this year, and he should be fighting for a spot on the podium at Worlds. It could be for gold, but if Pan Zhanle‘s 46.40 at the Olympics wasn’t an anomaly, silver might be his best bet. Alexy shouldn’t be slept on in the 50 free either, as he went 21.57 to win silver at the 2023 Worlds, and then was within seven one-hundredths of earning a berth in the event at the Olympics. Still, his 21.66 clocking from the Olympic Trials ranked tied for 13th in the world last year.

#25: Kyle Chalmers, Australia (2024 Rank: 11) – Chalmers’ name carries a lot of weight in Australian swimming, but in straying away from the 200 free, he’s really only got one truly elite event where he is a contender for major international titles. The 26-year-old Aussie has perenially been able to come up clutch when it matters most on the international stage, both in the 100 free individually and in relays, including winning the world title in the 100 free in 2023. Last summer at the Olympics, Pan Zhanle was untouchable, but Chalmers did enough for silver, touching in 47.48. That made it three straight podiums for Chalmers in the event, having won gold in Rio and silver in Tokyo. No one would bet against Chalmers winning a medal in the 100 free at the 2025 Worlds in Singapore, but there aren’t any other individual events where he figures to make an impact.

#24: Nicolo Martinenghi, Italy (2024 Rank: 33) – Martinenghi raced in three major international finals individually in 2024, and his worst finish was silver. The Italian breaststroke ace picked up a pair of runner-up finishes at the World Championships in Doha, claiming silver in the men’s 50 (26.39) and 100 breast (58.84), and he also uncorked a 57.97 breast split as the Italian men won bronze in the medley relay. Martinenghi’s year then culminated at the Olympics. Despite it being just the 21st-fastest swim of his career (and third-fastest of the year), he claimed gold in a relatively slow Olympic final in a time of 59.03. Since winning bronze at the Tokyo Olympics in 2021, Martinenghi has not missed the podium in the 100 breast at a major international meet, winning the 2022 world title, claiming back-to-back silvers at Worlds and then ultimately snagging Olympic gold. Now working under a new coach, the 25-year-old will be a threat for gold in the 50 and 100 breast at every meet for the foreseeable future.

#23: Elijah Winnington, Australia (2024 Rank: 47) – Winnington got some Olympic redemption of his own in Paris, winning silver in the men’s 400 free after he was the top seed coming into the Tokyo Games but ended up finishing 7th. His silver medal at the Olympics came after he won silver in both the 400 and 800 free at the 2024 Worlds in Doha, and then clocked 3:41.41 in the 400 free at the Aussie Olympic Trials, which ranked him #2 in the world for the year. He was also 7:42.86 in the 800 free in the Olympic prelims for 5th in the world, and was one of 25 men to go sub-1:46 in the 200 free in 2024 (1:45.90). The 24-year-old finished out the year by winning gold in the 400 free at Short Course Worlds, and enters 2025 riding some momentum.

#22: Miron Lifintsev, Russia (2024 Rank: NR) – Lifintsev was a relative unknown 12 months ago, but really made a name for himself in 2024. The 18-year-old Russian broke the World Junior Record in the 100 back (52.08) at the Russian Swimming Cup in July, and he also went 24.28 in the 50 back in LC, both times that ranked him 3rd in the world last year. Those swims came racing domestically in Russia, however. Lifintsev’s true international breakout came at Short Course Worlds, where he racked up five gold medals, including two individually in the 50 back (22.47) and 100 back (48.76), setting new World Junior Records in both. Given his age, Lifintsev is still improving, and could establish himself as the world’s best sprint backstroker as soon as this year if he continues on his upward trajectory.

#21: Ahmed Jaouadi, Tunisia (2024 Rank: NR) – An up-and-coming distance phenom, Jaouadi impressed in his Olympic debut for Tunisia just a few months after his 19th birthday, placing 4th in the 800 free (7:42.07), 6th in the 1500 free (14:43.35) and 9th in the 400 free (3:46.19). He finished the year ranked 4th, 7th and 17th in those three events last year, respectively, and was even better at SC Worlds, winning gold in the 1500 free (14:16.40) and bronze in the 800 free (7:31.93). After reaching the podium in Budapest, Jaouadi is a candidate to win multiple medals at LC Worlds in the 800 and 1500 free, especially if he keeps getting faster.