German Olympic Champion Lukas Märtens broke the world record in the 400 freestyle (3:39.96) on Saturday to open the 2025 Stockholm Open.
All world records create new histories, but this one checked two significant boxes:
- The previous record, set by countryman Paul Biedermann in 2009, was notched in a now-banned super-suit. That era saw suits made with polyurethane, drastically reducing drag and leading to a surge of world records—67 in 2009 alone. In 2010, World Aquatics banned such suits, requiring swimsuits to be made only from textile materials.
- Currently, there are only four super-suited world records left for male swimmers: the men’s 50 free, 200 free, 800 free, and 200 back. Additionally, there are two for the men’s relays: the 4×100 free and 4×200 free.
Märtens’ achievement marked the end of the oldest individual FINA/World Aquatics World Record, which had stood for 5,739 days before he dipped under it yesterday.
So that begs the question: what is now the oldest individual long course world record? Biedermann still holds the title, thanks to his 200 free from the same World Championship meet in 2009, set just two days after his 400 free record. As of April 13, 2025, the record has stood for 5,738 days and continues to endure.
However, Biedermann does not hold the title of the oldest overall long course world record. That distinction belongs to Team USA’s men’s 4×100 free relay world record of 3:08.24, set on August 11, 2008. This record, famous for Jason Lezak’s anchor leg, is 6,089 days old.
Besides Lezak, the relay also included Michael Phelps, Garrett Weber-Gale, and Cullen Jones. The relay averaged 47.06 seconds per leg, and the French team they beat remains the second-fastest relay in history.
The oldest women’s individual world record is Liu Zige’s 2:01.81 in the 200 fly, set on October 21, 2009, which has stood for 5,653 days as of April 13, 2025. Among supersuited world records, Liu’s remains the only one left for women.
Phelps held the men’s 400 IM world record from August 15, 2002, through July 28, 2024, meaning it was under his name for 8,018 days, longer than anyone has ever held any world record. It’s important to note that this was not a singular record; he continued to lower his own mark on multiple occasions, from 4:11.09 to 4:03.84.
When it comes to who held the longest-standing textile best, the distinction belongs to Australian freestyle legend Ian Thorpe, who clocked a 3:40.08 in the 400 free on July 30, 2002 in a non-super suit. That mark stood until yesterday, April 12, 2025, lasting a total of 8,292 days.
Other Quick Facts:
- Sweden’s Sarah Sjostrom holds the most individual long course world records among women (and men), with three to her name. She is the current world record holder in the 50 fly (24.43, set on July 5, 2014), the 100 free (51.71, July 23, 2017), and the 50 free (23.61, July 29, 2023).
- Tied for the second-most individual women’s long course world records behind Sjostrom are Katie Ledecky, Ariarne Titmus, and Kaylee McKeown, each holding two.
- Ledecky of Team USA holds world records in the 800 free (8:04.79, set on August 20, 2016) and the 1500 free (15:20.48, May 16, 2018).
- Titmus of Australia holds records in the 200 free (1:52.23, set on June 12, 2024) and the 400 free (3:55.38, July 23, 2023).
- McKeown, also representing Australia, holds the world records in the 50 back (26.86, October 20, 2023) and the 200 back (2:03.14, March 10, 2023).
- Adam Peaty of Great Britain holds the most individual long course world records among men, with two in breaststroke. He is the current world record holder in the 50 breast (25.95, set on August 4, 2017) and the 100 breast (56.88, July 21, 2019).
- Among men, the United States holds the most long course relay world records, holding all of them: the 4×100 free relay (3:08.24, set on August 11, 2008), the 4×200 free relay (6:58.55, July 31, 2009), and the 4×100 medley relay (3:26.78, July 31, 2021).
- For women, Australia leads with world records in two events: the 4×100 free relay (3:27.96, set on July 23, 2023) and the 4×200 free relay (7:37.50, July 27, 2023), as well as the mixed 4×100 free relay (3:18.83, July 29, 2023).
- When factoring in mixed relays, Team USA leads the overall relay record books with five: the aforementioned three from the men, in addition to the women’s 4×100 medley relay (3:49.63, August 4, 2024) and the mixed 4×100 medley relay (3:37.43, August 3, 2024).
All LCM World Records & Ages In Days, Oldest To Youngest:
| Event | Swimmer(s) | Time | Country | Date Set | Days Held (as of Apr 13, 2025) |
| Men’s 4×100 Free Relay | USA | 3:08.24 | USA | Aug 11, 2008 | 6,089 days |
| Men’s 200 Free | Paul Biedermann | 1:42.00 | Germany | Jul 28, 2009 | 5,738 days |
| Men’s 800 Free | Zhang Lin | 7:32.12 | China | Jul 29, 2009 | 5,737 days |
| Men’s 200 Back | Aaron Peirsol | 1:51.92 | USA | Jul 31, 2009 | 5,735 days |
| Men’s 4×200 Free Relay | USA | 6:58.55 | USA | Jul 31, 2009 | 5,735 days |
| Women’s 200 Fly | Liu Zige | 2:01.81 | China | Oct 21, 2009 | 5,653 days |
| Men’s 50 Free | Cesar Cielo | 20.91 | Brazil | Dec 18, 2009 | 5,595 days |
| Men’s 200 IM | Ryan Lochte | 1:54.00 | USA | Jul 28, 2011 | 5,008 days |
| Women’s 50 Fly | Sarah Sjostrom | 24.43 | Sweden | Jul 5, 2014 | 3,935 days |
| Women’s 200 IM | Katinka Hosszu | 2:06.12 | Hungary | Aug 3, 2015 | 3,541 days |
| Women’s 800 Free | Katie Ledecky | 8:04.79 | USA | Aug 20, 2016 | 3,158 days |
| Women’s 100 Free | Sarah Sjostrom | 51.71 | Sweden | Jul 23, 2017 | 2,821 days |
| Women’s 100 Breast | Lilly King | 1:04.13 | USA | Jul 25, 2017 | 2,819 days |
| Men’s 50 Breast | Adam Peaty | 25.95 | Great Britain | Aug 4, 2017 | 2,809 days |
| Women’s 1500 Free | Katie Ledecky | 15:20.48 | USA | May 16, 2018 | 2,524 days |
| Men’s 50 Fly | Andrii Govorov | 22.27 | Ukraine | Jul 1, 2018 | 2,478 days |
| Men’s 100 Breast | Adam Peaty | 56.88 | Great Britain | Jul 21, 2019 | 2,093 days |
| Men’s 4×100 Medley Relay | USA | 3:26.78 | USA | Jul 31, 2021 | 1,356 days |
| Men’s 100 Fly | Caeleb Dressel | 49.45 | USA | Jul 31, 2021 | 1,352 days |
| Men’s 100 Back | Thomas Ceccon | 51.6 | Italy | Jun 20, 2022 | 1,028 days |
| Men’s 200 Fly | Kristof Milak | 1:50.34 | Hungary | Jun 21, 2022 | 1,027 days |
| Women’s 200 Back | Kaylee McKeown | 2:03.14 | Australia | Mar 10, 2023 | 765 days |
| Women’s 200 Breast | Evgeniia Chikunova | 2:17.55 | Russia | Apr 21, 2023 | 723 days |
| Men’s 400 IM | Leon Marchand | 4:02.50 | France | Jul 23, 2023 | 630 days |
| Women’s 400 Free | Ariarne Titmus | 3:55.38 | Australia | Jul 23, 2023 | 630 days |
| Women’s 4×100 Free Relay | Australia | 3:27.96 | Australia | Jul 23, 2023 | 630 days |
| Women’s 4×200 Free Relay | Australia | 7:37.50 | Australia | Jul 27, 2023 | 626 days |
| Men’s 50 Back | Kliment Kolesnikov | 23.55 | Russia | Jul 27, 2023 | 626 days |
| Men’s 200 Breast | Qin Haiyang | 2:05.48 | China | Jul 28, 2023 | 625 days |
| Women’s 50 Free | Sarah Sjostrom | 23.61 | Sweden | Jul 29, 2023 | 624 days |
| Mixed 4×100 Free Relay | Australia | 3:18.83 | Australia | Jul 29, 2023 | 624 days |
| Women’s 50 Breast | Ruta Meilutyte | 29.16 | Lithuania | Jul 30, 2023 | 623 days |
| Women’s 50 Back | Kaylee McKeown | 26.86 | Australia | Oct 20, 2023 | 541 days |
| Women’s 400 IM | Summer McIntosh | 4:24.38 | Canada | May 16, 2024 | 332 days |
| Women’s 200 Free | Ariarne Titmus | 1:52.23 | Australia | Jun 12, 2024 | 305 days |
| Women’s 100 Fly | Gretchen Walsh | 55.18 | USA | Jun 15, 2024 | 302 days |
| Women’s 100 Back | Regan Smith | 57.13 | USA | Jun 18, 2024 | 299 days |
| Men’s 100 Free | Pan Zhanle | 46.40 | China | Jul 31, 2024 | 256 days |
| Mixed 4×100 Medley Relay | USA | 3:37.43 | USA | Aug 3, 2024 | 253 days |
| Men’s 1500 Free | Bobby Finke | 14:30.67 | USA | Aug 4, 2024 | 252 days |
| Women’s 4×100 Medley Relay | USA | 3:49.63 | USA | Aug 4, 2024 | 252 days |
| Men’s 400 Free | Lukas Märtens | 3:39.96 | Germany | Apr 12, 2025 | 1 day |
Maybe it’s that I grew up in a different era, am I the only one who thinks records set by swimmers from an unnamed country are not believable?
Hopefully the 200m free is next!
I’d rather lose the M200 back, then the M800 free
This is a very random question by a (very) uneducated person on the subject, but in Peirsol’s 200 back world record, he was only wearing a full leg suit, not a full body suit. How much of a difference does that make? Obviously, full leg is still a considerable difference to today, but is it possible he could have pushed the record even farther with a full-body suit?
https://youtu.be/_BZVe743qPE?si=VVBu9KmHb72-vaF_ here’s the video by the way. Irie’s comeback is diabolical, I thought he was Lochte the whole time on first watch then he suddenly popped up out of nowhere on the last 50.
I have a feeling the AUS womens 2 relay world records will stand for a very long time….
Especially the 4×100 free relay. An average of 51.99 per swimmer is wild.
They can get the 4×2 if Titmus returns to near her best.
I think Summer will break the 200 Fly LC record in the next two years.
hope so
I’m curious if altitude training is the next thing that unlocks distance swimming to get the men’s 800 record and even the women’s 200 fly. In track right now, almost every elite middle distance and distance runner trains at altitude full time or spends 3+ months up there, whereas swimming has always been a few weeks max. If I was Meehan, I would be getting one of the distance coaches to move a group to Colorado Springs full-time just to see what the results are after a year or two.
Haven’t runners been doing that for 40 years?
For swimming that’s incredibly expensive and taxing on the body. Also, many clinical studies have been done and show that while altitude does improve cardiovascular abilities, the benefits taper off after a few weeks. This means you went all the way up to camp and couldn’t swim at max intensity all to lose the benefits after a few weeks.
So…how does that work for “altitude adjustment times” that USASwimming/NCAA have implemented?
800 free world record is still the craziest to me. We have some incredible distance talents right now with Wiffen, Finke, Short and more, but none have gotten even remotely close to that 7:32.0. Could be a decade plus before it’s gets seriously challenged.
I think Mijatovic is the chosen one in this regard. Hoping so, at least!
Galossi if he gets back to form (though it’s been a few years now), or otherwise Tuncelli are probably closer to being able to fulfill that. I hope that Mijatovic will live up to his promising improvements, but even so he may well become more of a 200/400 swimmer than 800/1500 swimmer (and that kind of focus has benefits, as proven by Maertens)
If you were to take out an 800 in 3:39.96, and then hold on at Bobby Finke’s 1500 WR pace (29.022 / 3:05.17) the rest of the way, then you would still miss breaking Liu’s record by .01
oop, Zhang. Same formula on the women’s side (Titmus 400 + Ledecky 1500 pace) goes 8:00.8
The scary thing is that men’s 200m backstroke basically didn’t move at all. The winning time in 1997 could medal at today’s Olympics/Worlds…
That’s actually pathetic lol
I hate on this event a lot but that’s just sad. Even more embarassing that Hugo Gonzalez calls himself a “world champion” for barely winning 2 back in a historically cupcake field at a cupcake Mickey Mouse meet. Have some shame Hugo
Ah yes, cherry picking some slander bc we don’t like a particular swimmer. If there was a world championship and he won the title, it’s not like he’s calling himself something he didn’t earn or something that isn’t widely acknowledged or recognised. It’s like saying Olympic champions from 1980 or 1984 “call themselves olympic champions” because it was a “Micky Mouse meet” given half the world was absent.
Also not sure what you’re talking about RE: 1997 but if I recall correctly there was only Pan Pacs (where the winning time was 1.57) and SC words (where the winning time was 1.54). Neither would medal at today’s Olympics/Worlds. The first ones I can find for which what you say… Read more »
On the men’s side, I think the 200 back record is going to last the longest. Dressel and McEvoy were getting close to Cielo’s 50 WR, Popovici seems like he has the potential to get the 200, and the depth of the field in men’s distance swimming makes me think someone might be able to get the 800 (although this record is also insane).
It’ll be interesting to see what Kos can do this summer, but even now his best time is 2+ seconds off the record
800 will last the longest among all the current records
some questions
winning time from what 1997 meet?
Also the WR in 1997 was 1:56 which was set back in 1991, so what time are you referencing?