SwimSwam Awards: 2025 World Championships (Men’s Edition)

2025 World Championships

• July 27 – August 3, 2025 (pool swimming)
• Singapore, Singapore
• World Aquatics Championships Arena
• LCM (50m)
• Meet Central
• Entry Book
• Live Results
• Live Recaps
  • Prelims: Day 1 | Day 2 | Day 3 | Day 4 | Day 5 | Day 6 | Day 7 | Day 8
  • Finals: Day 1 | Day 2 | Day 3 | Day 4 | Day 5 | Day 6 | Day 7 | Day 8

Now that eight hectic days of racing at the 2025 World Championships are in the books, it’s time for SwimSwam to hand out some electronic hardware.

Below, find the Swammy Awards for the competition on the men’s side.

• See the women’s awards here.

MALE SWIMMER OF THE MEET: LEON MARCHAND (FRA)

It was nowhere near the magnitude of what he did at the Paris Olympics, but Leon Marchand‘s performances in Singapore were enough to land him Male Swimmer of the Meet honors despite his pared-down schedule.

After winning four individual gold medals last summer, Marchand dropped the men’s 200 breaststroke and 200 butterfly from his program one week out from Worlds, leaving only the 200 and 400 IM in his lineup, which led to plenty of speculation about his form coming in.

However, if he did race all four of the events he initially entered, the Frenchman would have had nine individual swims in a four-day span (Days 3-6) due to the proximity of the three 200s on the schedule, and as it turns out, dropping those two events had nothing to do with his form.

He had to wait three days to get his program underway, but once he hit the water, Marchand wasted no time in reminding everyone who the best male swimmer on the planet is.

In the semi-finals of the men’s 200 IM, Marchand produced arguably the greatest swim in history, clocking 1:52.69 to shatter Ryan Lochte‘s world record of 1:54.00 that had been on the books since 2011. The performance also reset Marchand’s European and French Record of 1:54.06 set at last summer’s Olympics.

• Read more on Marchand’s 200 IM world record here.

In the final, Marchand came out on top in a showdown with American training partner Shaine Casas, clocking 1:53.68 for the second-fastest swim ever and reclaiming the world title that he first won in 2022 and then defended in 2023. Casas made the race more competitive than expected, winning silver in 1:54.30, while Hungarian Hubert Kos (1:55.34) made it a podium sweep for Bob Bowman‘s athletes who train at the University of Texas.

All-Time Performances, Men’s 200 IM (LCM)

1. Leon Marchand (FRA), 1:52.69 – 2025
2. Leon Marchand (FRA), 1:53.68 – 2025
3. Ryan Lochte (USA), 1:54.00 – 2011
4. Leon Marchand (FRA), 1:54.06 – 2024
5. Ryan Lochte (USA), 1:54.10 – 2009

On the final day of racing, Marchand powered to a big victory in the 400 IM from Lane 1, leading wire-to-wire to clock 4:04.73 for the fourth-fastest swim of his career and the fifth-fastest in history. He won gold by more than three and a half seconds, with Japan’s Tomoyuki Matsushita repeating his Olympic result by winning silver in 4:08.32.

All-Time Performances, Men’s 400 IM (LCM)

1. Leon Marchand (FRA), 4:02.50 – 2023
2. Leon Marchand (FRA), 4:02.95 – 2024
3. Michael Phelps (USA), 4:03.84 – 2008
4. Leon Marchand (FRA), 4:04.28 – 2022
5. Leon Marchand (FRA), 4:04.73 – 2025

Marchand also appeared in two relays for France, anchoring them to 6th place in the men’s 4×200 free after a sizzling 1:44.34 split, the fourth-fastest in the field. Shortly after winning the 400 IM on Sunday, Marchand followed up by splitting 58.44 on the breaststroke leg of the men’s 4×100 medley relay, helping France to a silver medal and new National Record.

Marchand was not the only male swimmer to win two individual gold medals in Singapore, and one of them, Qin Haiyang, added an individual bronze to his medal haul, but in selecting our Male Swimmer of the Meet, Marchand’s world record performance put him over the top.

Honorable Mentions

• Qin Haiyang (CHN) – After a dominant performance at the 2023 World Championships and then a lackluster Olympic showing, Qin bounced back with a standout showing in Singapore, reclaiming his world titles in the men’s 100 breast (58.23) and 200 breast (2:07.41). Although neither seriously approached his lifetime bests, both were his fastest times produced since 2023. The 26-year-old also won bronze in the men’s 50 breast (26.67) and split 58.14 to help China to a silver medal in the mixed 4×100 medley relay.
• Ahmed Jaouadi (TUN) – Jaouadi wasn’t an unknown coming into the championships for hardcore swimming fans, but he certainly was flying under the radar with men’s distance freestyle being largely dominated by Europeans and American Bobby Finke over the last four years. However, in Singapore, it was Jaouadi who proved he was the world’s best, following up the 1500 short course world title he won in December by sweeping the men’s 800 and 1500 titles. The 20-year-old first ran away with the gold medal in the 800 free by three seconds, setting a new textile world record with the third-fastest swim ever in 7:36.88. He then closed out the competition by prevailing in a close race with Germany’s Sven Schwarz in the 1500 free, clocking 14:34.41 to rank #6 all-time.
• Maxime Grousset (FRA) – Grousset was on fire throughout the week in Singapore, winning double gold in the men’s 50 and 100 fly while adding a pair of relay medals for France. Grousset kicked things off by snagging the world title in the 50 fly in a time of 22.48, breaking the French Record and moving up to #4 all-time in the event. The 26-year-old then delivered under pressure in the stacked final of the men’s 100 fly, unleashing the third-fastest swim in history in 49.62 to break Kristof Milak‘s European Record of 49.68, his previous French Record of 50.11, and move to #2 all-time in the event. Grousset also split 49.27 on the French men’s medley relay to help them win silver in a new National Record, tying his split from the 2023 World Championships, which is the second-fastest ever, and he also led off in 47.62 as France won bronze in the mixed 4×100 free relay. He also made a third individual final, placing 7th in the 100 free (47.59).
• David Popovici (ROU) – Since Jim Montgomery did so at the inaugural World Aquatics Championships in 1973, Popovici is the only swimmer in history to win gold in both the men’s 100 and 200 freestyle, and he’s now done so twice. After sweeping the two events at the 2022 World Championships and then missing the podium in 2023, Popovici reclaimed both world titles in style in Singapore. The 20-year-old Romanian overcame a tough battle with American Luke Hobson to snag gold in the 200 free in a time of 1:43.53, using a blistering closing 50 to come from behind and win by over three-tenths. In the 100 free, Popovici was flawless, soaring to victory with the second-fastest swim in history in 46.51, breaking his own European and Romanian Record of 46.71 while downing Pan Zhanle‘s Championship Record of 46.80. American Jack Alexy went 46.81 in the semis and then 46.92 in the final to win silver, while Pan, the world record holder and reigning Olympic champion, missed the final in 10th.

MALE PERFORMANCE OF THE MEET: LEON MARCHAND, 200 IM SEMI

It might’ve been the greatest swim in history.

It wasn’t at the Olympics, and it wasn’t in a final, but Leon Marchand‘s performance in the semis of the men’s 200 IM reverberated around the globe.

Not one who usually gives it full gas in the prelims and semis, Marchand clearly was itching to get going and race under the lights when his first opportunity to race in the evening came on the fourth night in Singapore.

In the 200 IM semis, he was nearly eight-tenths of a second under world record pace at 50 meters and only extended the gap over Ryan Lochte‘s WR line through to the final turn, sitting a jaw-dropping 1.88 seconds under record pace. Despite losing just over a half-second on the freestyle leg, Marchand’s time exceeded everyone’s expectations and then some, blowing away the world record by 1.31 seconds in 1:52.69.

With no one in history having ever been under 1:54 in the event coming in, and only three men besides Marchand having been under 1:55, the Frenchman completely skipped the 1:53s and broke new ground by venturing into the 1:52s.

Marchand previously held the second-fastest swim in history (now fourth), which was the 1:54.06 European, French and Olympic Record he clocked en route to winning gold last summer in Paris.

Split Comparison

The 23-year-old went on to win the final in a time of 1:53.68, which is the second-fastest swim in history and the first 1:53-point clocking we’ve ever seen.

All-Time Performances, Men’s 200 IM (LCM)

1. Leon Marchand (FRA), 1:52.69 – 2025
2. Leon Marchand (FRA), 1:53.68 – 2025
3. Ryan Lochte (USA), 1:54.00 – 2011
4. Leon Marchand (FRA), 1:54.06 – 2024
5. Ryan Lochte (USA), 1:54.10 – 2009

One way to contextualize Marchand’s swim is that there are 31 swims in history between Lochte’s 1:54.00 and 1:55.31, which is the same margin between Marchand and the #2 swim in history (Lochte’s former WR), prior to his swim in the final. Read more on the swim here.

Honorable Mentions

• David Popovici (ROU), 100 Freestyle – Popovici had an electric performance in the 100 freestyle final, clocking 46.51 for the second-fastest swim in history, lowering his European and Romanian Records of 46.71 while erasing Pan Zhanle‘s Championship Record of 46.80. The showdown between Pan and Popovici was one of the most anticipated of the meet, but it didn’t end up coming to fruition as Pan missed the final in 10th place. When Pan set his world record of 46.40 at last summer’s Olympics, no one had come within 46 one-hundredths of it, but now Popovici is within 0.11.
• Maxime Grousset (FRA), 100 Butterfly – Grousset used a scintillating opening 50 to storm to gold in the men’s 100 fly in 49.62, the third-fastest swim in history as he broke Kristof Milak‘s European Record of 49.68 and smashed his own French Record of 50.11. Grousset, who split 22.80 on the opening 50 (closing in 26.82), now ranks #2 all-time in the event behind Caeleb Dressel (49.45).
• Hubert Kos (HUN), 200 Backstroke – Kos threw down the fastest 200 back in nearly a decade as he won the world title in a time of 1:53.19, marking the seventh-fastest swim in history, the fastest since 2015, and the third-fastest ever in a textile suit. It was also a new European Record, lowering Evgeny Rylov‘s mark of 1:53.23 set in 2021, and knocked nearly a full second off Kos’ previous Hungarian Record of 1:54.14, set en route to winning the world title in 2023.
• Ahmed Jaouadi (TUN), 800 Freestyle – Despite being more than four and a half seconds shy of the world record, Jaouadi’s swim in the 800 freestyle was still the fastest time ever produced in a textile suit, with his 7:36.88 clocking overtaking Tunisian countryman Ahmed Hafnaoui‘s mark of 7:37.00 from 2023. The only two swims in history faster than Jaouadi’s were produced in the same heat at the 2009 World Championships, where Zhang Lin clocked a mind-boggling 7:32.12 and another Tunisian, Oussama Mellouli, won silver in 7:35.27.

MALE JUNIOR SWIMMER OF THE MEET: TATSUYA MURASA (JPN)

18 years old or younger as of December 31, 2025

Murasa was the lone male junior to win an individual medal in Singapore, as the 18-year-old knocked off the Japanese Record in the final of the men’s 200 freestyle to win bronze.

After lowering his lifetime best down from 1:45.67 to 1:45.39 in the semis at Worlds, Murasa stepped up with a 1:44.54 clocking in the final, claiming the bronze medal as he outdueled Asian rival Hwang Sunwoo (1:44.72) on the last 50.

Murasa’s swim broke the four-year-old Japanese National Record of 1:44.65, set by Katsuhiro Matsumoto in 2021, and ranks him 3rd all-time among 18 & under boys, only trailing David Popovici (1:42.97) and Danila Izotov (1:43.90).

Murasa also swam the lead-off legs on the Japanese men’s 4×200 free relay (1:45.58) and the mixed 4×100 free relay (48.92), though both teams missed the final, placing 10th and 14th, respectively.

Honorable Mentions

• Carlos D’Ambrosio (ITA) – D’Ambrosio placed 6th in the final of the men’s 200 free (1:45.27) after setting a new Italian Record of 1:45.23 in the semis. The 18-year-old also swam the lead-off leg in a blistering 47.78 as the Italian men won silver in the 4×100 free relay, setting a new National Record of 3:09.58. He also led off the men’s team’s 7th-place finishing 4×200 free relay (1:45.75) and anchored the 4th-place finishing 4×100 medley relay (47.33).
• Zhang Zhanshuo (CHN) – Zhang placed 5th in the men’s 400 free in a lifetime best of 3:44.82, and he also placed 11th in the 200 free (1:45.84), 13th in the 400 IM (4:15.86) and 15th in the 800 free (7:53.74). His swim in the 400 free ranks him 4th all-time among junior boys, while his 200 free, which was also a PB, ranks him 8th. The 18-year-old also stepped up with a big 1:44.20 anchor leg for China on the 4×200 free relay, pulling ahead of Australia to win the silver medal as the squad set a new Asian Record in 7:00.91.
• Kuzey Tuncelli (TUR) – Tuncelli placed 6th in both the 800 free (7:49.09) and 1500 free (14:52.44), swimming faster times in both prelims in order to secure a lane in the final. The 17-year-old set a Turkish Record of 7:45.13 in the 800 free prelims, while in the 1500 heats, he posted a time of 14:45.28, four seconds off his National Record set at the Olympics last summer (14:41.22). The lone male junior to swim in two individual finals, Tuncelli’s 800 free time from the prelims ranks him #2 all-time among 18 & under boys, only trailing Lorenzo Galossi‘s World Junior Record of 7:43.37 from 2022.

CLUTCH RELAY PERFORMER OF THE MEET: JACK ALEXY (USA)

Alexy was on fire all meet and although his performances only resulted in one relay gold medal, he managed to step up with clutch splits in all of his appearances in the team events.

The split that jumps off the page for Alexy came on the anchor leg of the men’s 4×100 medley, where he became just the second man in history to split under 46 seconds with a sizzling 45.95 leg, the second-fastest ever behind the 45.92 produced by Pan Zhanle last summer.

That leg helped propel the American men to the bronze medal after they were 1.28 seconds down on 3rd-place Italy at the final exchange.

Alexy also led off in 46.91 as the U.S. team broke the world record in the mixed 4×100 free relay, clocking 3:18.48 to erase the previous mark of 3:18.83. That lead-off swim, despite it not being official due to coming on a mixed relay, was just a tenth shy of the American Record Alexy set earlier in the meet (46.81) and marked his fourth career swim sub-47.

On the opening night of competition, Alexy had the fastest lead-off leg in the field by more than half a second in the men’s 4×100 free relay, splitting 47.24 to hand the American team a big lead. They wound up settling for the bronze medal in 3:09.64.

Honorable Mentions

• Duncan Scott (GBR) – The ever-reliable Scott came through for the British men again in the 4×200 free relay, anchoring in 1:43.82 to solidify their gold medal victory by over a second ahead of China in 6:59.84. Scott also anchored the men’s 4×100 free relay in 47.23 as they placed 4th and set a new British Record, and his 47.70 free split on the men’s 4×100 medley relay earned them a 6th-place finish.
• Maxime Grousset (FRA) – Grousset recorded a 49.27 fly split on the French men’s 4×100 medley relay for the second time to help land them the silver medal in a National Record time of 3:27.96. The split ties his mark from 2023 for the second-fastest split ever. He also ensured France’s spot in the medley relay final by anchoring the prelim squad in 47.11, and led off the bronze medal-winning mixed 4×100 free relay in 47.62.
• Miron Lifintsev (NAB) – Lifintsev delivered a pair of key lead-off legs for the Neutral Athletes B squad as they swept the men’s and mixed medley relays. The 19-year-old unofficially produced the second-fastest 100 back swim of all-time, leading off the mixed 4×100 medley relay in 51.78 as the NAB squad clocked 3:37.97 to win gold by two seconds and break the Championship Record. In the men’s medley relay, he led off in 52.44 as they went on to win gold by more than a second in 3:26.93, another Championship Record and also a new European mark.
• Kirill Prigoda (NAB) – Like Lifintsev, Prigoda dropped two critical breast splits for NAB as they swept the medley relays. His 57.56 split in the mixed relay was the fastest in the field by a wide margin and the only one under 58 seconds, opening up a sizeable gap as they cruised to the title. In the men’s medley relay, Prigoda’s 57.92 split was the quickest in the field by half a second to help push them to gold.