At the Olympic Games, it’s a fairly well-known fact that there are four swimmers tied for the most appearances in history: Turkey’s Derya Buyukuncu, Tunisian Oussama Mellouli and the Swedish duo of Lars Frolander and Therese Alshammar.
All of them have appeared in six editions of the Games. After the Tokyo Olympics last year, Mellouli announced that he will attempt to compete at Paris 2024 and become the only swimmer to participate in seven Olympic Games.
But what about the World Aquatics Championships? Who are the swimmers with the most appearances? Instagram’s Swimming Stats page has published the list, which contains both some very well-known names along with some lesser-known athletes.
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There are four swimmers who have appeared in nine editions. And one of them deserve special attention, since she is the only one who is currently active.
Chilean Kristel Kobrich made her debut in 2003 and has appeared at every edition of the World Championships since. She is qualified to participate in Budapest this month, which means she will become the first swimmer to appear in 10 editions.
She is the only swimmer to appear in six finals in the women’s 1500 freestyle, almost medalling in 2009 and 2011 when she finished fourth. She is the biggest name Chile has in swimming, having appeared in five Olympic Games and being the country’s flagbearer at the Opening Ceremony in 2004.
Legendary swimmers Federica Pellegrini from Italy and Laszlo Cseh from Hungary both recently announced their retirements. Their last World Championship appearances came in 2019, when they completed nine appearances. Both also went on historic medal runs, with Cseh medaled in every edition from 2003 to 2017, and Pellegrini reaching the podium each and every time from 2005 to 2019.
Open water superstar Angela Maurer is the other swimmer who has appeared in nine editions of the World Championships, with her greatest achievement being the gold medal she won in the women’s 25 km event in Rome in 2009.
Six-time Olympians Alshammar, Frolander and Mellouli are also among those who have made a number of World Championships appearances, all racing in eight editions.
Of all nine swimmers who have appeared in eight World Championships, none of them will compete in Budapest. But there are some swimmers with seven participations who will race this month and join the list: Hungarians Katinka Hosszu, Zsuzsanna Jakabos and Evelyn Verraszto, Brazilian Nicholas Santos and Bolivian Karen Torrez.
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