What Were The Most Dominant Olympic Performances In Paris?

Courtesy: Dominique Hérailh

Looking at single-race performances, who were the most dominant Olympic champions in Paris? How do we answer this question objectively?

In breaking down which performances were most dominant, we’ve opted to use the World Aquatics Point Scoring system.

The two key determining factors in whether or not a performance was “dominant” are:

• A high score in FINA/World Aquatics points
• Large margin of victory over the runner-up

The scoring format: A swimmer’s total FINA points + the gap in points between them and the silver medalist.

Example: Katie Ledecky scored 962 FINA points in the women’s 800 free. The runner-up, Ariarne Titmus, scored 955. The total of the points retained is 962 + (962 – 955) =969

WOMEN’S RANKINGS

#5. Katie Ledecky, 1500 Freestyle –  1002

Although her time was 10 seconds slower than her world record, Katie Ledecky scored 970 points in the 1500 free, and earned an extra 32 after beating Anastasiia Kirpichnikova by another 10 seconds.

Number 4

4. Mollie O’Callaghan, 200 Freestyle – 1003

In a must-see battle between the world record holders in the 200 and 400 free, we saw a razor-thin finish between Mollie O’Callaghan and Ariarne Titmus, and although they were only separated by 14 points on the FINA table, O’Callaghan’s win still ranks so highly due to her 1:53.27 time scoring 989.

3. Kaylee McKeown, 100 backstroke – 1018

The world record holder and the reigning Olympic champion proved once again that she’s the best backstroker in the world. Kaylee McKeown’s time (57.33) matched the old world record she set in October 2023, hence the 1000 points awarded. Regan Smith finished 2nd, 33 one-hundredths back, with 982 points.

2. Sarah Sjostrom, 50 freestyle – 1019

With a time of 23.71, the 31-year-old Sarah Sjostrom was just one-tenth shy of her world record in the Olympic fianl. Leading from the early stages, she flew down the final 25 meters to open up a gap of 0.26 over Meg Harris.

1. Summer McIntosh, 400 IM – 1039

Summer McIntosh doesn’t necessarily claim the #1 spot because of her time, which was three seconds behind her world record. It was the massive gap she had over runner-up Katie Grimes, who was nearly six seconds back.

In the following graph, we can see that McIntosh is the only one to be found in Quadrant 1 (High Performance + Large Gap).

Most of the other competitors are in Quadrant 4 (High Performance +  small gap) with the exception of Ledecky (1500) and Sjostrom (50), who are at the edge of Quadrant 1.

See the full rankings below:

MEN’S RANKINGS

5. Leon Marchand, 200 breast – 1013

An Olympic record and a lead of almost one second over Zac Stubblety-Cook allowed Leon Marchand‘s 200 breast performance to rank 5th with 1013 points.

4. Bobby Finke, 1500 free – 1014

A world record and leading the race from start to finish showed the dominance Bobby Finke had over the rest of the field in the men’s 1500 free.

3. Leon Marchand, 200 IM – 1030

Coming within six one-hundredths of a second of Ryan Lochte’s historic world record, Marchand set a new Olympic record and scored 998 points in the 200 IM. The 1.25 second gap with Duncan Scott gives him an extra 32 points.

2. Leon Marchand, 400 IM – 1060

With the second-fastest performance of all-time, Marchand dominated the 400 IM from start to finish. Tomoyuki Matsushita was the runner-up, almost six seconds behind the leader for a gap of 66 points.

1. Pan Zhanle, 100 freestyle – 1099

In one of the most anticipated events of these Olympic Games, Pan’s race was a real feat. Not only did his time of 46.40 break the previous world record by 46 one-hundredths, but his dominance over the field was impressive.

He deserves, without a doubt, the top ranking.

The following graph highlights the two exceptional performances of Pan and Marchand, which are the only two to appear in Quadrant 1 (High performance + Large Gap). Compared to the women’s graph, there is a greater dispersion among men.

See the full rankings below: