“Rising Stars: Pan Zhanle and Bobby Finke Lead the Pack”

Leading Performances of 2024: Pan Zhanle, Bobby Finke Lead the Charge with Gold-Medal, World-Record Swims

The year wrapped up with one of the quickest editions of the Short Course World Championships ever held, where 30 world records were established over six days of contests. Nevertheless, only one swim from Budapest makes it to this year’s top-10 performances list, attributed to the remarkable feats recorded at this year’s Paris Olympics and in the months preceding the Games. Furthermore, each swimmer is permitted to appear on this list only once, and three athletes who recorded multiple world records at the Short Course Worlds have been acknowledged instead for their long course accomplishments.

The leading two performances of the year are attributed to the two individual world records established en route to Olympic gold. However, which one has claimed the top position?

1. Pan Zhanle (China), 100 Freestyle at Paris Olympics (46.40 WR)

Competing in his first Olympic final at the age of 19, Pan overshadowed more recognized names in men’s sprinting by shattering the 100 free world record by four tenths and securing Olympic gold by a complete second, even with 2016 Olympic champion Kyle Chalmers and former world-record holder David Popovici in the mix. Pan’s Olympic journey had started poorly, with China not medaling in the 400 free relay before he ended up 22nd in the 200 free, but in this event, he recorded splits of 22.28 and back in 24.12, both times well ahead of the competition. Later, Pan anchored China’s 400 medley relay in 45.92, the fastest time ever, leading his team to victory over the United States.

The world record in the 100 free had been remarkably durable following the polyurethane suit era. Popovici initially broke Cesar Cielo’s suit-assisted world record in August 2022, and subsequently, Pan claimed the title for himself at the World Championships in early 2024, timing in at 46.80, but this record redefined achievement in an event often regarded as swimming’s most prestigious.

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2. Bobby Finke (USA), 1500 Freestyle at Paris Olympics (14:30.67 WR)

When Finke initially secured Olympic gold three years prior in Tokyo, the preceding generation of distance swimmers was caught off guard by the American’s last-length charge that propelled him ahead of his competitors. However, that late surge tactic had diminished in effectiveness over recent years: in the 2023 World Championships final of the 1500 free and in the Olympic final of the 800, Finke’s primary rivals were equally strong in the sprint finish, leading to Finke settling for a silver medal.

Thus, in the ultimate individual event of the Paris Games, Finke opted to take the lead early, setting a relentless pace that no one could match or surpass, even with Ireland’s Dan Wiffen attempting to back up his 800 free victory with a second win in the 30-lap race. Additionally, Finke swam ahead of world-record pace for the entire distance, and at the finish, he achieved a time that surpassed a 12-year-old benchmark set by Sun Yang since the London Olympics. Furthermore, he became the only American male to clinch an individual gold in the pool in Paris.

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3. Summer McIntosh (Canada), 400 IM at Canadian Trials (4:24.38 WR)

The world’s premier female swimmer delivered outstanding performances at every turn this year. McIntosh was nearly flawless in her individual events at the Olympics, earning silver in the 400 free before dominating the 400 IM and holding off strong challengers in the 200 fly and 200 IM finals. She capped off the year with three gold medals, all achieved in world-record time, alongside one silver at the Short Course World Championships.

However, her standout moment for 2024 occurred earlier when McIntosh was simply aiming to secure her Olympic qualification at Canada’s selection event. She recorded a time of 4:24.38 in the 400 IM, obliterating her previous world record by one-and-a-half seconds. This swim made McIntosh the fastest swimmer ever by a significant two seconds, with the second-best performer Katinka Hosszu being the only other swimmer to even dip below 4:28. As exceptional as McIntosh was in Paris and Budapest, this performance was an unmatched display of talent.

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4. Gretchen Walsh (USA), 100 Butterfly at U.S. Olympic Trials (55.18 WR)

By the year’s end, Walsh had produced the singular most remarkable short course meeting in history, as she set nine individual world records while securing seven gold medals in

Budapest. How come none of those performances in the 25-meter pool qualify her for the list? The reason is that Walsh’s inaugural career world record was achieved in long course, surpassing a legendary benchmark that had remained unbroken for eight years.

During the first night of the U.S. Olympic Trials, Walsh shattered Sarah Sjostrom’s record in the 100 butterfly with an impressive time of 55.18. Renowned for her sheer speed and strong underwater-dolphin kicking ability, Walsh demonstrated her stamina to maintain the blazing tempo throughout the long course 100’s back stretch. She set the record in the semifinals, continued to clinch victory in the final, and ultimately earned Olympic silver in the event in Paris, along with three relay medals.

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5. Leon Marchand, 200 Butterfly & 200 Breaststroke at Paris Olympics (1:51.21/2:05.85)

This performance did not yield any world records, yet Marchand accomplished the extraordinary by claiming two individual Olympic gold medals in one session, outpacing the reigning gold medalists in both disciplines and captivating the French audience at La Défense Arena. In the final of the 200 fly, Marchand was trailing Kristof Milak until an unbelievable kickout at the final wall propelled him to the forefront. He finished with a gold time of 1:51.21, marking him as the second-fastest man ever behind Milak and ahead of Michael Phelps.

Merely two hours later, Marchand was competing again in the 200 breast, leading from the very beginning. He undeniably gained an advantage due to the world-record holder Qin Haiyang failing to qualify for the final, but he successfully fended off Australia’s Zac Stubblety-Cook, making him the second man in history to dip below 2:06. Marchand’s four individual golds in Paris placed him among only the third man ever to achieve such a feat in an Olympics, joining Phelps and Mark Spitz— a defining moment in his extraordinary journey.

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6. United States, Mixed 400 Medley Relay at Paris Olympics (3:37.43)

The solitary relay performance featured on this list was a showcase of strategy and flawless execution. After a disappointing fifth-place finish in the Olympic debut of the mixed medley relay, the American team chose a conventional arrangement of two men followed by two women. Both male swimmers were seasoned competitors, with Ryan Murphy and Nic Fink delivering their best swims of the meet, placing the Americans in a strong position alongside China.

At the halfway mark, the team was in second place until Gretchen Walsh changed that with an astonishing 55.18 butterfly split, the fastest ever recorded, granting anchor swimmer Torri Huske a narrow lead of four hundredths. As she had done throughout the Games, Huske came through in the clutch, her personal best of 51.88 enabling the Americans to edge out China for gold by a mere 12-hundredths.

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7. Jordan Crooks (Cayman Islands), 50 Freestyle at Short Course World Championships (19.90 WR)

The only short course swim on this top-10 list showcases Crooks, hailing from a nation of fewer than 100,000 residents, achieving the title of fastest man ever. As he approached the blocks in Budapest for the 50 free, Crooks was already the defending champion and had previously secured a bronze in the 100 free. One of the finest collegiate sprinters in history, he had shown remarkable growth in long course over the past two years, finishing among the top eight at both the 2023 World Championships and Paris Olympics.

However, during the 50 free, he shattered Caeleb Dressel’s world record in the preliminaries before surpassing that time even further in the semifinals, with a remarkable finish of 19.90 that made him the first man to surpass the long-anticipated 20-second barrier. This time was 26-hundredths ahead of any other competitor’s record, a substantial margin in such a brief event as the 50 free. The following evening, Crooks did not attempt to beat his world record but did clinch his second consecutive gold medal.

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8. Regan Smith (USA), 100 Backstroke at U.S. Olympic Trials (57.13 WR)

Here’s another American competitor who concluded the year with an impressive feat of short course world records, as Smith now possesses all three backstroke records in the 25-meter pool. Yet her standout performance of the year occurred at the U.S. Olympic Trials, where she shattered her first world record in five years, taking the 100 back title from Australian contender Kaylee McKeown with a timing of 57.13, two tenths faster than McKeown’s former record.

Smith proceeded to secure two relay gold medals and three individual silver medals in Paris, and her collection at the Short Course Worlds encompassed four gold medals, two silvers, and one bronze. Nonetheless, it was this long course world record that reinstated Smith’s status as a record-breaker, a title she had been striving for since her breakthrough performance at the 2019 World Championships.

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9. Ariarne Titmus (Australia), 200 Freestyle at Australian Olympic Trials (1:52.23 WR)

For several years, Titmus appeared poised to surpass Federica Pellegrini’s suit-assisted world record in the 200 freestyle, nearing the record by mere tenths multiple times since 2021. However, it was actually Mollie O’Callaghan, Titmus’ compatriot and training partner, who accomplished this milestone at the 2023 World Championships.

Less than a year after, Titmus retaliated, surpassing and indeed outpacing O’Callaghan’s final sprint when the two competed at Australia’s Olympic Trials. While O’Callaghan improved her former world record by nearly four tenths, Titmus emerged victorious, demolishing the global benchmark with a time of 1:52.23. Following this, Titmus claimed two gold medals (400 free and 800 free relay) along with two silvers (200 free and 800 free) in Paris.

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10. Katie Ledecky (USA), 800 Freestyle at Paris Olympics (8:11.04)

For the final position on this list, we must acknowledge Ledecky for making history as the first female swimmer ever to secure four consecutive gold medals in a single event. This achievement demanded remarkable resilience as Titmus remained closer to Ledecky than ever during an 800-meter race, opting to reveal her strategies early on in hopes of achieving a surprise upset.

Yet Ledecky remained steadfast, and during the last 200 meters, she surged ahead to clinch the gold medal. This performance was not near her best time, the world record of 8:04.79 that she set at the Rio Olympics, but winning gold at ages 15, 19, 23, and 27 elevated her status above that of three-time champions and legends Dawn Fraser and Kristina Egerszegi, placing her alongside Michael Phelps as the sole four-time winning swimmers.

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Honorable Mention

Kate Douglass established world records in the 200 IM and 200 breaststroke in short course after earning Olympic gold in the 200 breast as part of her four-medal achievement in Paris, and Noè Ponti showcased his mastery in short course, setting world records in the 50 and 100 fly during his three-gold-medal competition in Budapest. Luke Hobson, on the other hand, shattered a 15-year-old short course world record in the 200 free.

Returning to the Paris Olympics, Sarah Sjostrom deserves immense recognition for her clutch victories in the 100 free and 50 free, the latter of which was a surprising win in an event she decided to enter only at the last moment. Torri Huske executed an incredible comeback to triumph in the 100 fly in Paris, while Kristof Milak rebounded from his loss in the 200 fly to record his quickest 100-meter race in three years, outpacing Josh Liendo for Olympic gold. Many other relay world records were also taken into consideration, especially the American women shattering the records in the 400 medley relay in both long course (at the Olympics) and short course.