SwimSwam Pulse: 40% Pick W 200 Fly As Longest-Lasting World Record

SwimSwam Pulse is a recurring feature tracking and analyzing the results of our periodic A3 Performance Polls. You can cast your vote in our newest poll on the SwimSwam homepage, about halfway down the page on the right side, or you can find the poll embedded at the bottom of this post.

Our most recent poll asked SwimSwam readers which long course world record would last longest:

RESULTS

Question: Which world record will last longest?

  • Women’s 200 fly – 2:01.81 – 40.2%
  • Men’s 200 free – 1:42.00 – 38.2%
  • Men’s 200 fly – 1:51.51 – 11.3%
  • Men’s 200 back – 1:51.92 – 5.6%
  • Other – 4.8%

More than 40% of SwimSwam voters selected Liu Zige‘s 2:01.81 in the 200 fly as the current world record that would last the longest, narrowly edging the men’s 200 free (1:42.00 from Paul Biedermann).

Both records came from 2009, the final year before the buoyant, rubberized full-body swimsuits known now as “supersuits” or “bodysuits” were banned for competition.

Zige’s 200 fly seems a natural choice. Since the beginning of 2010, no one has come within 2.25 seconds of the record, with the “textile best” standing at 2:04.06 from the 2012 Olympics. Zige herself never went faster than 2:04.40 after the suit ban.

The men’s 200 free is an interesting case, because while the record is much faster than we see year-to-year in that race these days, it has actually been approached closer than the other records in this poll. Yannick Agnel went 1:43.14 in 2012, coming within 1.1 seconds of Biedermann’s record. The 200 free is still brought up as a tough-to-crack record, though, perhaps in part because of how much faster Biedermann proved to be in a supersuit compared to many other athletes.

Votes for Biedermann’s record nearly matched votes for Zige’s in this poll, despite Zige’s time leading the textile-best by more than double the amount by which Biedermann’s swim tops the corresponding textile best.

In the men’s 200 fly, Michael Phelps was 1:51.51 back in 2009. Since then, no one has been within 1.2 seconds of the record. Kristof Milak has been the closest, going 1:52.71 last year. But Phelps still technically holds the textile-best time with a 1:52.09 from the 2007 World Championships. Though many other swimmers in his heat wore early bodysuits, Phelps wore only a jammer.

Aaron Peirsol was 1:51.92 in the 200 back in 2009. Ryan Lochte holds the textile-best, going 1:52.96 in 2011. Two others have been within a few tenths of Lochte’s time.

 

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science geek
5 years ago

Until Mary T the second comes through with a 1:59…..

Yozhik
5 years ago

To add some substance to the discussion about toughest records I calculated the difference between mentioned in discussion records and the average of next three best performers that should represent the level of competition. And the winner is:
1. Sarah Sjostrom – 50 fly – 2.94% (24.43/25.17)
2. Katie Ledecky – 800 free. – 2.08% (8:04.73/8:15.03)
3.Liu Zige – 200 fly – 1.66% (2:01.81/2:03.87)
4. Katie Ledecky – 1500 free – 1.60% (15:25.48/15.40.52)
5.Katie Ledecky – 400 free. – 1.53% (3:56.46/4:00.13)
6.Paul Biedermann – 200FR – 1.29% (1:42.0/1:43.33)
7.Zhang Lin – 800 FR – 1.18% (7:32.12/7:37.50)
8. Michael Phelps – 200 fly. – 1.13% (1:51.51/1:52.79)
9. Katinka Hosszu – 400IM –… Read more »

Yozhik
Reply to  Yozhik
5 years ago

But #2 and #3 should be actually Adam Peaty: 100BR (2.44%) and 50BR (2.37%)

X Glide
5 years ago

Thoughts on Sarah Sjostrom’s 24.47 50 fly?

Brownish
5 years ago

Women’s 400 IM?

Brownish
5 years ago

Jared, Kristof Milak’s 1:52.71 is an off season swim from this year (28th of March).

He Gets It Done Again
5 years ago

Phelps went 1:52.09 in a jammer in 2007

bobo gigi
Reply to  He Gets It Done Again
5 years ago
marklewis
5 years ago

The Paul Biedermann’s record in the men’s 200 free of 1:42.00 has not been challenged since it was set in 2009.

Biedermann’s final 50 was a superhuman 25.70. No one has else has swum the last 50 under 26.00, not even Phelps at Beijing 2008.

And that’s why the record is going to be so hard to break.

marklewis
Reply to  marklewis
5 years ago

I doubled checked Agnel’s splits at London 2012, and he swam a 25.98 in the final 50. He blew the field away in the final 50, which shows how fast a sub-26 split is.

Crannman
Reply to  marklewis
5 years ago

Cant believe you guys forget Thorpe in Fukuoka! When he swam that incredible 1:44.06 his final split was 25.80.

Friuti
Reply to  marklewis
5 years ago

Also, as far as I could find, the fastest recorded final 50 of a race longer than 100m for Men was a 25.68 from Sun Yang in his world record 1500m. That is simply absurd to be honest.

M L
Reply to  marklewis
5 years ago

Zhang Lin swam the last 50 of his WR 800 in 25.99.

William Wallace
5 years ago

800 free, hands down. That one stays for a long time.

About Jared Anderson

Jared Anderson

Jared Anderson swam for nearly twenty years. Then, Jared Anderson stopped swimming and started writing about swimming. He's not sick of swimming yet. Swimming might be sick of him, though. Jared was a YMCA and high school swimmer in northern Minnesota, and spent his college years swimming breaststroke and occasionally pretending …

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