SwimSwam’s Top 100 For 2025: Women’s #50-41

After an unprecedented year of racing that included the Olympics sandwiched between the Long Course and Short Course World Championships, it’s time to start releasing our fifth annual Top 100 list—check out last year’s rankings here.

As in previous years, we’ve taken a statistically driven approach reliant primarily upon world rankings and medals won at the Olympics, and to a lesser extent, Short Course Worlds and the 2024 Worlds in Doha. We’ve also accounted for things like potential, future medal opportunities, injuries, and versatility. Long-course is weighted more heavily than short-course, though performance potential in both formats is factored into our rankings.

After a large contingent of Russian and Belarusian swimmers raced at Short Course Worlds in December, those swimmers have started to move back up the rankings after they were low on the lists last year due to lack of competition.

We’ll be breaking down the top 100 into multiple installments, so keep an eye out as they’re released.

These lists are, by nature, subjective. If you disagree, leave your thoughts/ranks in the comments.

Thank you to Daniel Takata for his help with the data and compiling the rankings. Madeline Folsom contributed to this report. 

Women’s Rankings:

• #100 – #91
• #90 – #81
• #80 – #71
• #70 – #61
• #60 – #51
• #50 – #41
• #40 – #31
• #30 – #21
• #20 – #11
• #10 – #1

#50: Ariarne Titmus, Australia (2024 Rank: 6) – Titmus has established herself as the best female 400 freestyler, and one of the two best 200 and 800 freestylers in the world over the last six years. Titmus would’ve ranked right around where she did last year if it weren’t for her recent announcement that she won’t be racing at the 2025 World Championships. She has not closed the door on competing in 2025, and she could end up racing towards the end of the year. Titmus currently holds two LC world records in the women’s 200 and 400 freestyle, and is coming off winning 400 free gold and silver in the 200 and 800 free at the Paris Olympics.

#49: Alex Shackell, USA (2024 Rank: 65) – Shackell had an exceptional 2024. After making the U.S. World Championship team in the women’s 4×200 free relay in 2023, the teenage standout came back even better last year. At the 2024 U.S. Olympic Trials, Shackell earned her first Olympic berth after finishing as the runner-up in the 200 fly, setting a PB of 2:06.10 in the semis. This time was almost two seconds faster than she was in 2023 at 2:07.95. She also finished 6th in the 200 freestyle, picking up a spot on the 4×200 free relay, and was 4th in the 100 fly semis before scratching the final due to three of the fastest women ever ranked ahead of her/a conflict with the 200 free. She didn’t go quite as fast at the Games, finishing 6th in the 200 fly in 2:07.73, but her best 200 fly time ranked her 5th in the world for 2024. She also swam a prelim leg of the 4×200 free relay and 4×100 medley relay, earning silver in the former and gold in the latter. Shackell also ranked 11th in the world in the 100 fly, 71st in the 100 free, and 36th in the 200 free. The 18-year-old went on to swim at the 2024 SC Worlds in December, finishing 4th in the 200 fly at 2:03.23. She also swam on four different relays for Team USA earning four medals. Not only is Shackell a medal contender in 2025, but she also makes a significant impact on relays for the United States.

#48: Kasia Wasick, Poland (2024 Rank: 48) – Wasick has been around the block a few times, competing at four straight Olympic Games dating back to 2012. The Polish sprinter is not letting age slow her down, and she went two new best times last year at 32. Wasick was one of the athletes who chose to swim all three major international meets last year, starting her year at the World Championships in February where she won a silver medal in the women’s 50 free, swimming a new personal best of 23.95. She also led off Poland’s 4×100 freestyle relay in 54.12, another PB. She went on to swim the 50 free at the Games in Paris, coming in just off her best at 24.33 to finish 6th in the event, but her time from Worlds ranked her 3rd for 2024. Wasick did not take an extended break after the busy first half of her year, and went right into the World Cup where she swam at all three stops, winning the triple crown in the 50 freestyle. At the SC World Champs, Wasick won bronze in the 50 free and also placed 6th in the 100 free.

#47: Abbie Wood, Great Britain (2024 Rank: 89) – Wood, 25, moves up significantly from her previous ranking after a bit of a bounce-back year. The medley specialist was one of the few swimmers in this tier who swam at all three major international meets last year. She started at the Doha World Championships, placing 6th in the 200 IM, and swam on the silver medal-winning 4×200 freestyle relay. At the British Trials in April, Wood won the 200 IM in 2:08.91, and she finished 2nd in the 200 free at 1:56.62. She also grabbed a 6th-place finsih in the 100 free (55.26). She went on to swim the 200 IM and the 4×200 freestyle relay at the Olympics. She finished 5th in the 200 IM at 2:09.51, which was just off the 2:08.91 best time she set in April of last year. She also swam at the SC World Champs in December, where she earned four medals. She won individual bronze medals in the 200 IM (2:02.75) and the 400 IM (4:24.34), and she also won a silver as a member of the 4×100 medley relay where she swam the backstroke leg in 57.44. Wood had a pair of top 100 times in 2024 in the 200 free (24th) and the 200 IM (10th).

#46: Tessa Giele, Netherlands (2024 Rank: NR) – Giele is coming off a breakout year on the senior swimming scene, making her first long course international team for last year’s Olympics. The Dutch native raced the 100 fly placing 15th while also contributing on a pair of relays. In the 100 fly, Giele saw significant improvement last year, dropping almost a second-and-a-half in the event through various meets. Coming into 2024, Giele’s best time in the event was 58.41 from 2022, and she had only been under 59 seconds four times. At the end of the year, she had done it 17 times, and lowered her best time to 57.38, which she went at the British Olympic Trials. She continued to hold onto that momentum through the SC World Champs, where she swam four individual events, finaling in three of them. She finished 5th in the women’s 50 fly going 24.87, 5th in the 100 IM at 57.69, and had a breakthrough performance in the 100 fly, grabbing silver in 54.66. The 22-year-old also swam fly on the Dutch mixed 4×50 medley relay which finished 8th, and breast on the women’s 4×100 medley relay which came in 9th, showing off her versatility. If Giele improves even half the amount she did last year, her versatility is a huge asset in making her a threat at the World Champs.

#45: Angharad Evans, Great Britain (2024 Rank: NR) – Evans joins two other British swimmers in this section. She took an extended break from international competition while competing for the University of Georgia from 2020-2022, and after the 2022 NCAAs, didn’t race any competitions for a full year. In 2023, she contested the British Championships, where she finished 3rd in the 50 and 100 breaststroke, missing the Worlds team. At the 2024 British Trials, Evans won the 100 breaststroke in 1:06.54 to earn her way to her first major international meet, junior or senior. The 21-year-old Evans went on to the AP Race London where she won the 100 breast in a new National Record time of 1:05.54. At the Games, she was just off this time, swimming 1:05.85 in the event to finish 6th. Evans finished her year at the SC World Championships in Hungary where she swam all three breaststroke events, finishing 12th in the 50, 7th in the 100, and 8th in the 200. Her prelims time in the 100 breast of 1:03.45 was also a new National record in the event. In the 2024 rankings, she finished 7th in the 100 breast and 37th in the 200 breast.

#44: Phoebe Bacon, USA (2024 Rank: 49) – After missing the Worlds team in the 200 backstroke in 2023, Bacon came back with a bang in 2024, qualifying for the U.S. Olympic team in the event after clocking 2:06.27 in the final. She also finished 6th in the 100 back at the Trials (59.33 in semis). At the Olympics, Bacon finished 4th in the 200 back, touching in 2:05.61 to record her fastest swim in the event since 2022. The University of Wisconsin swimmer went on to compete at SC Worlds in December, where she again finished 4th in the 200 back. She also swam as a prelims member of the women’s 4×200 freestyle relay and the women’s 4×100 freestyle relay, ultimately earning a gold medal in both. While she has only swam the 200 backstroke at international meets, she had three events where she ranked in the top-100 rankings for 2024. Her 100 back was tied for 20th, her 200 back was 4th, and her 200 IM came in at 41st. Getting through the U.S. qualification meet is the tough part, but if Bacon can do that, she’ll be in the medal hunt at Worlds in the 200 back.

#43: Beryl Gastaldello, France (2024 Rank: NR) – Gastaldello has plenty of experience under her belt at this point of her career, and although she’s been looked at as a short course specialist in the past, had a revival of sorts in long course in 2024. The Frenchwoman placed 8th in the 100 back (59.31 in semis), 11th in the 50 free (24.60 in prelims) and 16th in the 100 free (53.83 relay lead-off) at the Games, and also represented France on a trio of relays. The 29-year-old, who will turn 30 in a few weeks, impressively set long course best times in the 50 free (24.51) and 100 back (59.17) last year, and as expected, was even better at SC Worlds. In Budapest, Gastaldello set three new best times and earned three medals in the 100 free (50.63; silver), 50 fly (24.43; silver), and the 100 IM (56.67; bronze). Given that she saw progress in long course, and is coming off a successful SC Worlds, Gastaldello will be one to watch for at the 2025 Worlds. At SC Euros in December, she could be in store for a sizeable medal haul.

#42: Angelina Köhler, Germany (2024 Rank: NR) – The 24-year-old Köhler enters 2025 as the reigning world champion in the women’s 100 butterfly. At the 2024 Worlds in Doha, the German native clocked 56.28 to win gold by three-tenths of a second. This was just off the personal best time and German National Record she set in the prelims of 56.11. Köhler also swam the 50 fly (5th) and the 50 free (20th) at the meet. She went on to swim the 100 fly at the Olympics where she finished 4th, clocking 56.42. In the 2024 world rankings, Köhler ranked 4th in the 100 fly, trailing three American swimmers. Köhler is in the medal hunt at the World Championships this year, and her chances improve with the retirement of Maggie MacNeil.

#41: Freya Colbert, Great Britain (2024 Rank: 52) – Colbert is another world champion in this tier. At the World Champs in Doha, Colbert went 4:37.14 in the 400 IM to win the event. The 20-year-old also swam the 200 backstroke at the meet, finishing 8th. She went on to win the 200 free and 400 IM at the British Olympic Trials, and she also finished 2nd in the 200 IM to earn a spot on her first Olympic team. In May, she swam at the AP Race London International, setting a new best time in the 200 IM at 2:12.27. At the Olympic Games, Colbert swam the 200 and 400 IM events, finishing 4th in the 400 IM in 4:35.67, just shy of her PB set at the 2023 Worlds (4:35.28) while also placing 18th in the 200 IM (2:12.88). Colbert also swam on Great Britain’s 4×200 freestyle relay, leading off in a best time of 1:55.95 to help them finish 5th. Colbert had multiple top-100 rankings for 2024, 200 free (13th), 200 backstroke (52nd), 200 IM (21st), and 400 IM (4th).