Australian sprinter Meg Harris set a new personal best in the 200 freestyle this weekend at the Queensland Championships in Brisbane, and in doing so, she joined an exclusive club.
Harris, the reigning world champion in the women’s 50 free, clocked 1:55.97 in the 200 free, improving on her four-year-old best time of 1:56.29 to become just the fifth woman to hold long course best times that are sub-24 in the 50, sub-53 in the 100 and sub-1:56 in the 200.
Hat tip to commenter “GOATKeown” for pointing out this stat.
Harris, who owns lifetime bests of 23.97 in the 50 free and 52.52 in the 100 free, joins Sarah Sjostrom, Emma McKeon, Shayna Jack and Torri Huske in the elite club.
Women Sub-24/53/1:56 In 50/100/200 Free (LCM)
| Swimmer | 50 FR PB | 100 FR PB | 200 FR PB |
| Sarah Sjostrom (SWE) | 23.61 | 51.71 | 1:54.08 |
| Emma McKeon (AUS) | 23.81 | 51.96 | 1:54.55 |
| Meg Harris (AUS) | 23.97 | 52.52 | 1:55.97 |
| Torri Huske (USA) | 23.98 | 52.29 | 1:55.71 |
| Shayna Jack (AUS) | 23.99 | 52.28 | 1:55.37 |
Sjostrom and McKeon are in a class of their own when it comes to this list, as they are the only two women who have ever broken 52 seconds in the 100 free, and they’re also the only two on this list who have broken 1:55 in the 200 free.
After Sjostrom won silver and McKeon claimed bronze in the 200 free at the Rio Olympics, McKeon swept the 50 and 100 free at the Tokyo Games in 2021 (with Sjostrom earning silver in the 50 free), and then three years later in Paris, Sjostrom did the same.
Sjostrom, of course, owns the world record in both the 50 and 100 free, while McKeon ranks #5 all-time in the 50 and #2 in the 100.
One difference between those two swimmers and Harris is that Sjostrom and McKeon were primarily 100 fly specialists while in their prime in the 200 free, and then transitioned to a 50/100 focus in the latter part of their career.
For Harris, she’s at the peak of her career in the 50, having won the 2025 world title, and the range she showed to go 1:55.97 this weekend at the Queensland Championships is seriously impressive, not to mention she also narrowly missed her 100 free best time in 52.56.
Huske set her best times in the 50 and 200 free this past June at the U.S. National Championships, while her 100 free best time came en route to winning silver at the Paris Olympics (she also swam her second-fastest 100 free ever, 52.43, at Nationals).
Jack set her best times in the 100 and 200 free during a breakout year in 2023, and then had her lone sub-24 swim in the 50 free come at the 2024 Australian Olympic Trials.
Given that there are only 18 women who have ever been under 24 seconds in the 50 free, it’s already a very exclusive list of swimmers who have been sub-24 in the 50 and sub-53 in the 100 without even factoring in the 200.
Of the 18 women sub-24 in the 50, all but four of them have broken 53 in the 100, the only four who haven’t being Therese Alshammar, Kasia Wasick, Marleen Veldhuis and Liu Xiang.
Of the nine remaining women who have gone 23/52 (but not sub-1:56), only three have posted a 200 free time that ranks in the top 400 all-time: Simone Manuel (1:56.09), Libby Trickett (1:57.06) and Cate Campbell (1:58.21).
WOMEN SUB-24 IN THE 50 WITH 100/200 BEST TIMES
| Swimmer | 50 FR PB | 100 FR PB | 200 FR PB |
| Sarah Sjostrom (SWE) | 23.61 | 51.71 | 1:54.08 |
| Britta Steffen (GER) | 23.73 | 52.07 | 1:58.85 |
| Pernille Blume (DEN) | 23.75 | 52.69 | 1:59.71 |
| Cate Campbell (AUS) | 23.78 | 52.03 | 1:58.21 |
| Emma McKeon (AUS) | 23.81 | 51.96 | 1:54.55 |
| Ranomi Kromowidjojo (NED) | 23.85 | 52.75 | 1:59.47 |
| Therese Alshammar (SWE) | 23.88 | 53.58 | 2:03.33 |
| Kate Douglass (USA) | 23.91 | 52.56 | 2:03.21 |
| Gretchen Walsh (USA) | 23.91 | 52.78 | 2:01.12 |
| Kasia Wasick (POL) | 23.95 | 54.12 | N/A |
| Francesca Halsall (GBR) | 23.96 | 52.87 | 1:59.13 |
| Marleen Veldhuis (NED) | 23.96 | 53.17 | 1:58.26 |
| Meg Harris (AUS) | 23.97 | 52.52 | 1:55.97 |
| Libby Trickett (AUS) | 23.97 | 52.62 | 1:57.06 |
| Simone Manuel (AUS) | 23.97 | 52.04 | 1:56.09 |
| Liu Xiang (CHN) | 23.97 | N/A | N/A |
| Torri Huske (USA) | 23.98 | 52.29 | 1:55.71 |
| Shayna Jack (AUS) | 23.99 | 52.28 | 1:55.37 |
It’s a big jump in the 50, but I could see Steenbergen show up on this list. She may be similar in stroke capability to Heemskerk and get stuck on 24 low in the 50, but she’s definitely had some very promising relay splits in SCM (like Heemskerk, a 22.8) that should imply she’s got the goods to a 23 LCM.
Is 2026 the year Meg and Mol Dog go 51?
Is Sarah the swimmer with the highest Fina combined score in the 50, 100 and 200 free? Or is it David Popovici? Or perhaps Cam Mc Evoy? Just curious.
It’s certainly Sarah. It’s hard to get an extremely high score in men’s 200 free due to how ridiculous the WR is. And Sarah holds two WRs in 50 and 100.
Would have to be Sarah.
I would bet Sarah.
Sarah: 1000/1000/952 = 2,952
McEvoy: 978/959/904 = 2,841
Popovici: 878/992/972 = 2,842
Thanks!
Australian relay teams will not be beaten for the next decade.
Would the male equivalent be sub 22/48/1:46-1:47?
Chalmers
Popovici
Dressel
Biondi
Apple
Guiliani
Sammon might be close
I’m sure there are others that I’m missing.
Matt Richards and Pan Zhanle.
It’s hard to find a male equivalent. 18 women have been 23, 32 have been 52 and 55 have been 1:55.
For men, 160 have been 21, 90 have been 47 and 96 have been 1:45.
To get similar equivalents men would be about sub 21.50 (33), sub 47.50 (27) and sub 1:45.50 (56).
I think McEvoy and Giuliano might be the only ones?
💯
21/47/1:45
Meg Harris is pretty underrated.
On this site, she’s been underrated for years.
In top 100 female swimmers of 2025, she was ranked behind the likes of Alex Walsh.
Only about a month until we can start scrutinising the 2026 lists 😆
Will there be one in 2026 too? It would be the first time they publish a list in an year without Olympics or World Championships. The standard will be murkier.
They published every year
thats also Alex Walsh being overrated
Meg is on fire 🔥
Sjostrom and McKeon also have the achievement of Olympic medals in the 50-100-200 Free.
I can’t find any other female who has done that at the Olympics. Have I overlooked anyone?
I think that’s it. And they both coincidentally also have a medal in the 100 fly