Katinka Hosszu Now Holds the 10 Fastest 100 IMs in History

FINA WORLD CUP – BERLIN

Hungarian swimmer Katinka Hosszu now is the owner of the  10 fastest 100 short course meter IMs in history, putting her into a transcendent category with only one other active swimmer.

Hosszu’s 57.12 in the finals of the women’s 100 IM on Wednesday in Berlin, Germany is the 5th-best time in the history of the event. That bumps Australian Alicia Coutts, who was about three-months too late on her best swim to ever hold the World Record, into just a tie for the 11th-fastest performance in history.

The new top 12:

  1. Katinka Hosszu, 56.67, 2015 European Short Course Championships
  2. Katinka Hosszu, 56.70, 2014 Short Course World Championships
  3. Katinka Hosszu, 56.86, 2014 FINA World Cup – Dubai
  4. Katinka Hosszu, 56.99, 2014 Short Course World Championships
  5. Katinka Hosszu, 57.12, 2016 FINA World Cup – Berlin
  6. Katinka Hosszu, 57.25, 2014 FINA World Cup – Doha
  7. Katinka Hosszu, 57.34, 2014 FINA World Cup – Doha
  8. Katinka Hosszu, 57.45, 2013 FINA World Cup – Berlin
  9. Katinka Hosszu 57.50, 2013 FINA World Cup – Eindhoven
  10. Katinka Hosszu, 57.52, 2015 European Short Course Championships
  11. TIE – Katinka Hosszu/Alicia Coutts, 57.53, 2013 FINA World Cup  Tokyo (same race)

According to our research, only one other swimmer currently can claim the 10 fastest performances in history: American Katie Ledecky in the event that got her started internationally: the 800 long course meter free. Ledecky actually has the 13 fastest performances in the history of that event, but with still 7 stops of this year’s World Cup Series to go, Hosszu is within reach of that (though her finals swim in Berlin was the first in 4 to crack the top 10 in this year’s series).

While it would be a nearly impossible to try and capture how often this has been done historically, it speaks to the level of domination of these two that they’re the only ones who have done it at all. Even when they both have events in which they’ve obliterated World Records (Hosszu in the 400 IM, Ledecky in the 400 free), these are the only two in which they’ve accomplished the feat.

Ledecky’s is clearly the more impressive of the two, as an Olympic event, but to be better so many times in a single event cannot be discounted regardless of the circumstances.

Other active swimmers of note:

  • Sweden’s Sarah Sjostrom has 9 out of the 10 fastest swims in history in both the 50 and 100 meter butterflies. If she can clear Dana Vollmer’s former 100 fly World Record of 55.98 two more times, she’d clear the deck in that race; her countrymate Therese Alshammar’s 25.07 in the 50 long course fly sits at #7 in that race.
  • After the three fastest swims in history at the Olympics earlier this month, Adam Peaty now has the 7 fastest 100 breaststrokes in history (and 8 of 10). Cameron van der Burgh’s 58.46 from the  London Olympics is the target there. He only technically has the two fastest 50 long course meter breaststrokes in history, but given that he was the 3rd-best performance ever in that event on the front-half of his 100 World Record in London, there’s a chance that he clears that list in a hurry if nobody starts to close that gap.
  • Caeleb Dressel swam the 6 best 50 yard freestyles in histoory over just a 5 week period this spring. If he can repeat his feat, and go under Cesar Cielo’s 18.47 as many times next year, he’d join the club as well.
  • As for THE man, Michael Phelps? His best in a single event is just the 4-fastest performances in history, which come in the 200 long course meter fly. That stat, as much as any, highlights the underrated accomplishments of Ryan Lochte and Laszlo Cseh during that period, who in another era could have put up Phelpsian medal counts of their own.

 

Sjostrom has 9 of 10 in 50 and 100 fly

Peaty has 7 in 100 breast

Phelps has 4 in 200 fly

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Dee
7 years ago

Impressive – But, the competition has hardly been tough. It’s not like having the top 10 LCM times in any given event, or even the top 4 or 5, in my opinion.

SCM/Yards really don’t excite me – The best athletes rarely race them in anything like top shape, that’s why Hosszu is so dominant, she has ground out the ability to swim fast irrespective of what point in her cycle she is.

tea rex
7 years ago

From just before 2007 Worlds: https://web.archive.org/web/20070930201732/http://www.usaswimming.org/USASWeb/_Rainbow/Documents/f6b7d964-6cd6-4e4f-8a30-741b052c8efa/mens_event_history.pdf

Thorpe had 8/10 in the 200 free and the top NINE times in the 400m free. Phelps had 9/10 in the 200 fly after 2007.

Human Ambition
7 years ago

Anna-Karin Kammerling held 13 out of 14 fastest 50 fly in 2005.

Prickle
7 years ago

The high frequency that world records being fallen with during recent years indicates of poorly developed competition in SCM. There is no match to LCM in this regard especially on men side. To have a half of dozen best times in LCM discipline is an incredible achievement incomparable with similar results at SCM. Also don’t forget 2008-2009 results that interrupt the successful sequence of best performances. For instance, if not to count Pellegrini’s 3:59.15 (2009) at 400 then Katie Ledecky has more than 10 best times. Or like Kukors’ 2:06.15 at 2009. Because of that Hosszu will never have even three best times at this discipline in LCM.

Prickle
Reply to  Prickle
7 years ago

Kukors – 200IM (LCM)

Brownish
Reply to  Prickle
7 years ago

She will have and in 400IM too.

Sergey v
Reply to  Brownish
7 years ago

I don’t know if Hosszu will ever have all top 3 fastest ever in 400 IM. She will have to swim two sub 4:28, and at World Championships the 400 IM is scheduled in the last day of competition.

Brownish
Reply to  Sergey v
7 years ago

I know, at Worlds she will swim near WR (I think new WR) in 200IM, but there will be LC races before Budapest. And of course Budapest itself is a strong motivation for every Hungerian swimmers.

Prickle
Reply to  Brownish
7 years ago

If you know so much about Hosszu’s future can you please inform us at what age Katinka stops to improve her times in LCM. 28 or 30 or 35 (as Ervin did)? Or never? Having this age it would be easy to calculate how many best times will she have at 200 and 400IM in LCM.
And Sergey made accurate observation about Hosszu’s “iron” abilities. Look, in Rio the 200IM final wasn’t even at last day. Who could expect that after sensational 4:26 at 400IM she will be that close to lose gold medal at 200IM where she was prohibitive favorite.

Attila the Hunt
7 years ago

I’m sorry, but Lochte and Cseh could not have put up Phelpsian medal counts in any other era.
They won all their medals already with Phelps swimming in those races.

Uberfan
Reply to  Attila the Hunt
7 years ago

If Lochte was as good as he was in Shanghai in 2004 he would be Michael Phelps

Beachbumj343
Reply to  Uberfan
7 years ago

And if phelps fully trained between 2008 and 2012 he would have a lot better and would have beaten lochte in 2011 and other swimmers during that time to. Common knowledge that phelps didn’t train very well those years

Billabong
Reply to  Beachbumj343
7 years ago

Not training is never an excuse. It just demeans the achievements of others is a spiteful way. MP doesn’t need to do that, and others should not do that on his behalf.

Attila the Hunt
Reply to  Uberfan
7 years ago

I beg to differ.
Not trying to diminish his accomplishments, but Lochte’s great Shanghai results were in some way helped by the events schedule which was perfect for him. Look it up. His races were spread nicely and sparingly across 8 days.
With better preparation, he tried to swim the same exact events in London -which had different, bunched up, scheduling- , and yet he came significantly short (200 free from gold to zero, 200 back from gold to bronze, 200 IM from WR gold to silver).

And I don’t like to talk about if this, if that, because under different circumstances, even with the same persons and same conditions you’d get different outcomes.

Attila the Hunt
Reply to  Attila the Hunt
7 years ago

In fact, Lochte didn’t win medals or won lesser medals in races where Phelps didn’t swim, for example:
200 free and 200 back in 2012 London, 200 free in 2013 barcelona, 200 free in 2015 Kazan.

Beachbumj343
Reply to  Attila the Hunt
7 years ago

You gave facts and got down voted. Very weird people out there

Prickle
Reply to  Beachbumj343
7 years ago

This voting is not “agree/ disagree” but is “like/ dislike”. If it was the former case then there some arguments exist and they are provided most of the times. In the later case no arguments are needed. It just enough to not like some person to vote her/him down. Weird those people are or not it doesn’t matter. Don’t take this voting seriously.

Bad Parent
Reply to  Beachbumj343
7 years ago

Beachbum,

Yeah Attila has earned those “down” votes from previous posts – not from this.

Swim Swam posters have long memories and sometimes curious voting habits. For example Bobo – one of the nicest posters ever – get immediate “down” votes.

Attila is super negative and a bit mean…and posts a lot.. so I think he earned his…

Tim Wheyster
7 years ago

Legend, I don’t know how she does it

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