While many athletes left Singapore with history, hardware, or even heartbreak, the 2025 World Championships also elevated a plethora of swimmers’ social media followings. Some saw a few hundred increase, and some experienced tens of thousands of new followers.
SwimSwam collected the Instagram follower counts of Team USA and a variety of international athletes before and after the World Championships in Singapore
Data was gathered from July 15th to August 10th
Team USA Women (Sorted by Percentage Increase):
| Swimmer | Instagram followers pre-games | Instagram followers post-games | Total Increase | Percentage Increase | Individual Medals Won |
Relay Medals Won
|
|
| Anna Peplowski | @anna_peplowski | 11,082 | 13,020 | 1,938 | 17.49% | 0 | 1 |
| Claire Weinstein | @claire_weinstein | 17,178 | 19,000 | 1,822 | 10.61% | 1 | 1 |
| Katharine Berkoff | @katharineberkoff | 15063 | 16,480 | 1417 | 9.41% | 2 | 1 |
| Kate Douglass | @kaatedouglass | 111,536 | 120,855 | 9,319 | 8.36% | 2 | 3 |
| Alex Walsh | @alexwalsh7 | 121,085 | 129,030 | 7,945 | 6.56% | 1 | 0 |
| Gretchen Walsh | @gretchwalsh2 | 133,269 | 140,580 | 7,311 | 5.49% | 2 | 1 |
| Jillian Cox | @jilliantcox | 2,871 | 3,015 | 144 | 5.02% | 0 | 0 |
| Erin Gemmell | @eringemmelll | 6,548 | 6,867 | 319 | 4.87% | 0 | 2 |
| Regan Smith | @regansmith4 | 146,349 | 152,542 | 6,193 | 4.23% | 4 | 1 |
| Clarie Curzan | @claire.curzan | 40,958 | 42,652 | 1,694 | 4.14% | 1 | 1 |
| Phoebe Bacon | @baconswims | 16,139 | 16,669 | 530 | 3.28% | 0 | 0 |
| Torri Huske | @torri_huske | 108,084 | 110,791 | 2,707 | 2.50% | 1 | 3 |
| Bella Sims | @arabellagsims | 33281 | 33,943 | 662 | 1.99% | 0 | 1 |
| Lilly King | @_king_lil | 147,247 | 149,338 | 2,091 | 1.42% | 0 | 1 |
| Katie Ledecky | @katieledecky | 903,904 | 914,517 | 10,613 | 1.17% | 3 | 1 |
| Katie Grimes | @_katie.grimes_ | 50,109 | 50,574 | 465 | 0.93% | 0 | 0 |
| Mariah Denigan | @mariahdenigan | 5,486 | 5,507 | 21 | 0.38% | 0 | 0 |
| Simone Manuel | @swimone | 245,608 | 245,906 | 298 | 0.12% | 0 | 4 |
| Emma Weyant | @emmaweyant | 54,513 | 54,351 | -162 | -0.30% | 0 | 0 |
| McKenzie Siroky | @kenzie_siroky | N/A | 3,905 | N/A | N/A | 0 | 0 |
| Anna Moech | @_annamoesch | N/A | 3,376 | N/A | N/A | 0 | 2 |
| Caroline Bricker | @brickercaroline | N/A | 2,946 | N/A | N/A | 0 | 0 |
| Brinkleigh Hansen | @bringkleigh_hansen | N/A | 1845 | N/A | N/A | 0 | 0 |
| Brooke Travis | @_btrav | N/A | 986 | N/A | N/A | 0 | 0 |
While Gretchen Walsh and Katie Ledecky made the biggest headlines, Anna Peplowski garnered the largest increase in followers from the World Championships. Following her performance in Singapore that yielded a 4×200 freestyle relay silver, Peplowski grew her social brand by nearly two thousand new followers, over an 18 percent increase.
Claire Weinstein notably no-showed her 400 free early in the meet, leaving many to question her availability for the rest of Singapore. She turned around to deliver a lifetime best in the 200 free, securing bronze for Team USA. Weinstein was also a crucial part of the women’s 4×200 free relay that won silver, growing her social following by over 10 percent.
Team USA Men (Sorted by Percentage Increase):
| Swimmer | Instagram followers pre-games | Instagram followers post-games | Total Increase | Percentage Increase | Individual Medals Won |
Relay Medals Won
|
|
| Luca Urlando | @lucaurlando | 10,671 | 12,844 | 2,173 | 20.36% | 1 | 0 |
| Jack Alexy | @jackalxy | 22,912 | 27,246 | 4,334 | 18.92% | 2 | 3 |
| Campbell McKean | @campbell.mckean | 2,709 | 3,112 | 403 | 14.88% | 0 | 1 |
| Shaine Casas | @shaine_casas | 35,486 | 38,519 | 3,033 | 8.55% | 1 | 1 |
| Josh Matheny | @josh_matheny | 4,534 | 4,729 | 195 | 4.30% | 0 | 1 |
| Jack Aikins | @jaikins0 | 3,849 | 3,980 | 131 | 3.40% | 0 | 0 |
| Luke Hobson | @luke_.hobson | 9,155 | 9,422 | 267 | 2.92% | 1 | 0 |
| Santo Condorelli | @santo_condorelli | 24,466 | 25,012 | 546 | 2.23% | 0 | 0 |
| Chris Guiliano | @_chrisguiliano | 14,190 | 14,500 | 310 | 2.18% | 0 | 2 |
| Carson Foster | @carson24foster | 49,254 | 49,913 | 659 | 1.34% | 0 | 0 |
| Thomas Heilman | @thomas_heilman_ | 23,036 | 23,290 | 254 | 1.10% | 0 | 0 |
| Bobby Finke | @robert_finke | 94,379 | 95,363 | 984 | 1.04% | 1 | 0 |
| Michael Andrew | @swimmermichael | 239,749 | 240,151 | 402 | 0.17% | 0 | 0 |
| Patrick Sammon | @patrick.sammon | N/A | 15,528 | N/A | N/A | 0 | 2 |
| Luka Mijatovic | @luka_mijatovic5 | N/A | 8,928 | N/A | N/A | 0 | 0 |
| David Johnston | @davidjohnston14 | N/A | 6,306 | N/A | N/A | 0 | 0 |
| Destin Lasco | @destin_lasco | N/A | 5,249 | N/A | N/A | 0 | 1 |
| Dare Rose | @d_rose1000 | N/A | 5,210 | N/A | N/A | 0 | 1 |
| Rex Maurer | @rexmaurer | N/A | 5,160 | N/A | N/A | 0 | 0 |
| Jonny Kulow | @jonny_kulow | N/A | 4,412 | N/A | N/A | 0 | 2 |
| Keaton Jones | @keatonjones_swim | N/A | 3,600 | N/A | N/A | 0 | 0 |
| Gabriel Jett | @gabrieljettt | N/A | 3,314 | N/A | N/A | 0 | 0 |
| Ivan Puskovitch | @swimimp | N/A | 3,306 | N/A | N/A | 0 | 0 |
| Charlie Clark | @charlieswims32vsc | N/A | 2,797 | N/A | N/A | 0 | 0 |
| AJ Pouch | @littlepouch | N/A | 2,788 | N/A | N/A | 0 | 0 |
| Joey Tepper | @joey_tepper | N/A | 2,575 | N/A | N/A | 0 | 0 |
| Henry McFadden | @henrymcfadden | N/A | 2,440 | N/A | N/A | 0 | 0 |
| Tommy Janton | @t.janton23 | N/A | 1,810 | N/A | N/A | 0 | 1 |
| Dylan Gravley | @dylan__gravley | N/A | 1,452 | N/A | N/A | 0 | 0 |
| Quintin McCarty | @quintin__mccarty | N/A | 1,316 | N/A | N/A | 0 | 0 |
Luca Urlando’s heroic 200 butterfly win helped leverage his follower count by over 20 percent, the largest increase of anybody from Team USA. Jack Alexy, who is coming off of one of the best sprint freestyle performances in American history, was the beneficiary of a near 19-percent increase in his social brand following, the third most among American Swimmers.
After his breakout summer, which included a pair of national titles (50 and 100 breaststrokes) and his first World Championship berth, future Texas Longhorn Campbell McKean put the nation on notice with his performances at both U.S. Nationals and Worlds (where McKean represented the Americans on the bronze medal-winning 4×100 medley relay), growing his social following by nearly 15 percent.
International Swimmers (Sorted by Percentage Increase):
| Swimmer | Instagram followers pre-games | Instagram followers post-games | Total Increase | Percentage Increase | Individual Medals Won |
Relay Medals Won
|
|
| Pieter Coetze | @thedripkingh20 | 10,244 | 14,092 | 3,848 | 37.56% | 3 | 0 |
| Summer McIntosh | @summerrmcintosh | 386,029 | 465,972 | 79,943 | 20.71% | 5 | 0 |
| Denis Petrashov | @vohsartepnad | 15,262 | 17,893 | 2,631 | 17.24% | 1 | 0 |
| Hubert Kos | @hubi.kos | 32,428 | 36,060 | 3,632 | 11.20% | 2 | 0 |
| Maxime Grousset | @maximegrousset | 104,759 | 116,424 | 11,665 | 11.14% | 2 | 2 |
| Noe Ponti | @noeponti | 73,741 | 81,942 | 8,201 | 11.12% | 2 | 0 |
| Yohann Ndoye-Brouard | @yoyo.2911 | 39,098 | 43,331 | 4,233 | 10.83% | 2 | 1 |
| David Popovici | @chlorinedaddy | 490,658 | 526,149 | 35,491 | 7.23% | 2 | 0 |
| Marrit Steenbergen | @marritsteenbergen | 12,776 | 13,640 | 864 | 6.76% | 1 | 1 |
| Kliment Kolesnikov | @klimmikool | 31,969 | 33,825 | 1,856 | 5.81% | 1 | 1 |
| Leon Marchand | @leon.marchand31 | 1,479,480 | 1,556,865 | 77,385 | 5.23% | 2 | 1 |
| Lukas Maertens | @lukas01swim | 49,102 | 51,605 | 2,503 | 5.10% | 2 | 0 |
| Mollie O’Callaghan | @mollie_ocal | 92,463 | 96,547 | 4,084 | 4.42% | 2 | 3 |
| Anna Elendt | @annaelendt | 82,486 | 85,885 | 3,399 | 4.12% | 1 | 0 |
| Meg Harris | @hariismeg | 31,435 | 32,220 | 785 | 2.50% | 1 | 1 |
| Kaylee McKeown | @kaylee_mckeown | 170,849 | 173,797 | 2,948 | 1.73% | 2 | 1 |
| Thomas Ceccon | @ceccon_thomas | 678,870 | 686,991 | 8,121 | 1.20% | 2 | 1 |
| Cam McEvoy | @cam_mcevoy | 152,689 | 154,267 | 1,578 | 1.03% | 1 | 0 |
South African sensation Pieter Coetze brought home gold in the men’s 100 back against a stacked field, earning his first individual world title. Along wth a pair of additional silvers in Singapore, Coetze grew his following by an astounding 37.56 percent, gaining over 3800 followers.
Summer McIntosh wrapped up her World Championships campaign with five individual medals, joining Sarah Sjostrom and Michael Phelps as the only swimmers to ever achieve this feat. McIntosh had a massive following before these championships, yet she gained nearly 80,000 followers, boosting her follower count by over 20 percent.
Leon Marchand decided to scratch both the men’s 200 breaststroke and 200 butterfly, narrowing his focus on the medley events in Singapore. In the semi-finals of the 200 IM, Marchand blasted an other-worldly 1:52.69, breaking Ryan Lochte‘s world record of 1:54.00 from 2011 to make him the only swimmer ever to swim sub-1:54 (and sub-1:53). The following day, Marchand took home the 200 IM crown in the championship final. He completed the IM sweep, taking gold in the 400 IM in 4:04.73. Marchand sat comfortably over 1.4 million Instagram followers entering the World Championships, and ended up gaining over 77,000 new followers as a result of his legendary performance.
