The Swammy Chronicles: Celebrating the Ultimate Relay Swimmers in Men’s 100 Free

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This “Shouts from the Stands” contribution originates from Sam Blacker.

This year, we’ve compiled 100 freestyle splits from both the men’s freestyle and medley relays, as well as the mixed freestyle and medley relays; unless otherwise noted, the times discussed are in long course format. We have also not arranged this top ten in any specific order – feel free to share your opinions in the comments regarding what that order should be!

The concept of a relay swimmer spans from Summer League competitions all the way to Olympic finals – individuals who nearly always perform their best in a relay, sometimes far exceeding what their individual times would suggest. But who has excelled in this regard on a global scale this year? We’ll begin with the 100 free – such an outstanding event that it even has its own relay, serving as the crucial anchor leg for medleys.

When assessing these performances, we will consider three criteria – speed (compared to personal bests/season bests and the world record), consistency, and relay performance. For instance, a swimmer clocking 48-low with four splits in a year, having one sub-47 and the other three at 48-high, would be significantly less likely to make the list than if they had recorded all four at 47-mid – though that decision would be more challenging if that 46-point split had contributed to their nation standing on the podium. Exceptional individual results can immensely impact relay medal outcomes, but consistent relay performance is founded on swimmers who can reliably deliver splits marginally faster than their best flat starts. The stars are those who can achieve that while occasionally unleashing an exceptionally fast split.

Consider Duncan Scott’s 46.14 from 2019. His subsequent fastest split is a 46.92 from the 2021 Europeans – still a top 50 split of all time but nearly eight-tenths slower – followed by a series of 47.0s and 47.1s. If a team is relying on a single swimmer to exceed expectations for relay success, the odds are you’ll more often miss than succeed. This doesn’t diminish the value of swimmers who can occasionally deliver a sub-47 split (cough *Kyle Chalmers* cough), but the ideal relay swimmer possesses the ability to consistently achieve a relay split roughly half a second quicker than their flat start time. With this understanding, we will explore the top relay swimmers this year that you would want on your fantasy roster (if such a concept existed) – they boast an exceptionally high baseline, and you can count on them to perform when it matters. Let’s begin with a few honorable mentions.

HM – David Popovici

The primary reason Popovici narrowly misses this list isn’t truly his fault – Romania’s relays, while competitive for finals at the European level, fall short of contention in major competitions. He typically takes the lead-off leg, limiting his chances to post a substantial relay split. Romania did not qualify for any relays at the Olympics, so the only relay splits Popovici has logged this year come from the European Championships in June – but his impact there was significant. In the freestyle relay final, he led the team with a National Record setting relay in 47.22 – quick, yet slower than his individual performance, and he’s been leading off relays consistently in the 47-low range since his junior days. However, in the heats, they changed things up and had Popovici anchor, which he did in an impressive 46.66; the 11th fastest textile split in history, and the 3rd fastest this year. He clocked 23.94 on the final leg of this split, just 1.22 seconds slower than his first 50. To our knowledge, no other swimmer has ever split under 24 seconds for their second 50 in a long course 100 free, so that’s quite the achievement. 23.94.

HM – Kaique Alves

Alves only completed a single international relay split in 2024, but it was quite remarkable. Entering the Short Course Worlds with a personal best of 47.10 from the Jose Finkel Trophy in August, he improved by four-tenths while leading off Brazil’s prelim 4x100m Free relay, clocking in at 46.69. Transitioning to the third leg for the final, he produced a 45.82, the ninth-fastest flying split in the competition, positioning himself among World and Olympic medallists. Any SCM split below 46 is exceptionally quick, and there has never been a 4×100 relay that wouldn’t have benefitted from this effort – particularly impressive for someone who entered the meet without an individual event and with a PB that wouldn’t have qualified for the semifinals in the lone event. That’s a noteworthy result.

HM – Shane Ryan

Ryan swam one leg of a relay, achieving a split of 47.21, which is over a second faster than his flat start personal best, assisting Ireland in breaking their national record at the Olympics by eight-tenths. Not bad for a swimmer whose reputation is built as a sprint backstroker, with a personal best of 48.39, and whose fastest split before Paris was 48.59. Oh, and he now sits just outside the top 50 all-time performers. Ryan has previously swum the backstroke leg on medley relays for Ireland, but with Conor Ferguson available and having set the National Record in the long and short course 100 free this year, we may see him swimming this leg more often.

HM – Jack Alexy

Alexy faced quite different experiences with relays at the two significant championships he attended this year. In Paris, he was somewhat off his personal bests throughout the competition, leading off the men’s freestyle relay in 47.6 and anchoring the heats medley relay in 47.4. This was only a tenth faster than his individual performance, and he was not on the team for the final. However, at the Short Course Worlds in December, he delivered a masterclass in relay performance. He began with a spectacular showing, breaking both the Championship and American records with a 45.05, previously held by Kyle Chalmers and Caeleb Dressel (jointly with Nathan Adrian), and continued in the same fashion with 44-mid splits on the mixed and men’s medley relays. Those represent the second and third fastest splits in history, and he nearly executed the rarely employed tactic of a male anchor on the mixed medley successfully – despite a 23.4 back-end split, he finished just eight one-hundredths behind the anchor for Neutral Athletes B (Russia). Those relay performances were comfortably quicker than his flat start times, and his consistency across those swims in Budapest made him the most dependable anchor leg present. His inconsistency in Paris is likely what keeps him from making the list – his solitary split was four-tenths off his personal best, and Hunter Armstrong was preferred for the final of that medley relay despite a PB half a second slower. Had he been just a fraction quicker there, he would surely be a lock for the top 10.

TOP 10

Chris Guiliano

From one American to another. Guiliano was slightly faster in Paris and a tad slower in Budapest but makes the top 10 by virtue of slightly slower personal bests and ranking just a little more

consistent overall than Alexy this year. His single relay split in Paris occurred during the 4×100 free final, where his time of 47.33 assisted in catching and surpassing China – a majority of that advantage coming on the first 50, where he surged out with a 21.70. While it was slightly slower than his personal best of 47.25 set at the U.S. Olympic Trials, it was four-tenths faster than his individual time, and two-thirds of a second quicker than his performance in the individual final. Upon reaching Budapest, he was directly advanced to the finals in the men’s 4×100 free, where he contributed a time of 45.42 to anchor the team to a new world record by over a second, and subsequently concluded the meet with a split of 44.99 to secure a bronze in the heats medley relay. Once more, both of these performances outpaced his individual time of 45.51, with that 44.99 split placing him among only 11 men to split under 45. He demonstrates a rapid start in his relay swims, achieving 21.1 and 21.0 at Short Course Worlds to accompany his 21.7 from Paris, yet he still managed to maintain consistency, resulting in him having the 3rd, 3rd, and 4th fastest splits in each respective event.

Manuel Frigo

As one of the less recognized contributors to Italy’s successful 4×100 free relay over recent years, Frigo recorded their swiftest split at both the Olympics and Short Course World Championships this year. His split of 47.06 in Paris was the third quickest in the field and surpassed his flat start record of 48.25 from the 2024 Worlds in Doha by well over a second. Notably, even though he was only a tenth slower on the back end compared to his personal best, he was more than a second quicker on the initial 50 – his early momentum didn’t hinder him at all.

A significant factor for his ranking has been Frigo’s consistency this year – three long course splits of 48.0 or under (from a personal best of 48.2) and short course splits of 46.3 and 45.7 (from a 47.4 personal best). He has anchored silver medal-winning relays at both Long and Short Course Worlds, as well as the bronze medal-winning relay in Paris. While there has been considerable rotation on this relay around the mainstays of Alessandro Miressi and Thomas Ceccon, Frigo’s position as a likely anchor suggests his reliability. Italy boasts a strong history of rapid anchor legs – Filippo Magnini, Christian Galenda, and Alessandro Miressi have all achieved sub-47 splits and collectively hold 20 splits under 47.5 – and Frigo appears set to join that ranks.

Kyle Chalmers

Despite competing at only one major championship this year, Chalmers makes the list due to a swift 46.59 anchor leg propelling the Australians from 4th to silver in Paris. His season-best is ‘only’ 47.48, from the individual 100 final at the Olympics, thus that relay split was nine-tenths quicker, ranking among the fastest in history. Indeed, it stands as the ninth-fastest split ever and fifth-fastest in textile – two of those ahead of him are his own. Although he was slightly slower delivering the medley relay in 47.35 at the meet’s conclusion, it remained quicker than his flat start time. It’s hard to overlook a split as rapid as that first one, particularly one that moves you from off the podium to clinching an Olympic medal.

Andrej Barna

An Olympic semi-finalist in 2021, a Worlds semi-finalist in 2022 and 2023, and a World finalist in 2024, Barna has been a prominent figure in men’s 100m freestyle for several years, albeit not someone you might readily recognize. Throughout most of those contests, he’s hovered around the 48-low/47-high range, but at the European Championships in Belgrade this year, he lowered his personal best and Serbian record to 47.66, earning him a bronze medal.

That time is swift, but it’s in relays where Barna has particularly excelled recently, especially this year. Splits of 47.8, 47.7, and 47.6 at Worlds, then 47.3, 47.0, and 46.8 at Europeans, with a 47.4 at the Olympics illustrate not only his speed but also his consistency – he has recorded faster splits in every relay than his individual swims at that meet by at least 0.2. Though that Olympic split marked a slight regression, his best flat start time there was only 48.3 – he still managed to gain nearly a second on the relay, outpacing everyone in the heats except for Josh Liendo, Kyle Chalmers, and Pan Zhanle; all of whom are world medallists in this event. That 46.8 from Europeans was notably impressive – ranked as the 5th fastest split this year, placed in the top 50 all time, and propelled the Serbian team from 5th to 1st as they clinched gold and set a new National Record.

Pan Zhanle

This selection is quite straightforward – Pan has undoubtedly been swift on every relay leg he has participated in this year. Including lead-offs, he has delivered four relay legs under 47 seconds, culminating in an extraordinary 45.92 to anchor China to gold in the medley relay in Paris. This achievement made him the first man to ever finish under 46 and was over a second quicker than any other split in that race (the next was Hunter Armstrong’s 47.19). Examining his other relay performances, what notably stands out is his dependability – 2 lead-offs and a prelims anchor all falling between 46.80 and 46.98. Relay lead-offs are notoriously challenging to execute correctly, and most competitors tend to underperform in the match-racing scenarios they create. Pan’s capacity to clock 46.80 at Worlds (then a world record) and subsequently 46.92 at the Olympics (then an Olympic Record) while leading off the freestyle relay is possibly one of the few underrated aspects of his swimming.

Having the confidence in a swimmer to deliver a near-certain 46-point split is invaluable – just consider what Kyle Chalmers has provided Australia over the past 5 years as a reliable option. China has frequently struggled to assemble the elite freestylers needed to be competitive in the 4×100 free relay, yet featuring Pan alongside three solid albeit unremarkable swimmers would suffice to reach the finals – and introducing another elite relay swimmer into that mix would position them well in contention for medals.

Wang Haoyu

Regarding that second elite relay swimmer – he’s already present. Making a striking entrance with a 46.9 split in 2023, he has consistently produced quick relay splits this year – two 47.4s on gold medal-winning relays in Doha, alongside a 47.6 on the relay in Paris that narrowly missed out on the podium. Wang holds a personal best of 47.89 from May 2023, but he hasn’t dipped under 48 this year – and in Paris, his quickest flat start time was 48.61, nearly a full second slower than his relay split. Dependability on a top-tier international relay, a trend of swimming faster on relays than individually, and the ability to deliver quick splits in finals, all at just 19 years of age? He’s already a multiple world champion; however, he and Pan represent an incredibly robust foundation for China to build upon and establish themselves as one of the frontrunners in this event.

Luke Hobson

It might be somewhat unexpected to see Hobson featured here considering he specializes in the 200m event at the international level and possesses a long course personal best of 48.50, but he has recorded five very commendable 100m splits this year. The first three occurred at the Doha World Championships, where he clocked 47.7, 47.6, and 48.2 – all of which were swifter than his flat start best, showcasing a sprinting ability reminiscent of Blake Pieroni and Townley Haas.

His last two splits were recorded at Short Course Worlds in December, where he achieved times of 45.4 in heats and 45.1 in the final, as the U.S. soared to a new world record. His more distance-oriented capacities are evident in his ability to return under 24 seconds, yet his front-end speed was equally impressive, placing him among the top sprinters (3rd fastest to 50 in

the ultimate), and he outperformed prominent athletes like Chris Guiliano and Gui Caribe. For an athlete who likely still considers themselves a 200/400 swimmer, it is truly remarkable to more than hold his own against the 50/100 competitors in their specific arena.

Ksawery Masiuk

Masiuk secures his position primarily due to his showing at Short Course Worlds, playing a vital role in two top 4 relays. He registered a split of 45.64 on the bronze-medal-winning Freestyle relay in Budapest, ranking as the 4th fastest in the cohort, and subsequently achieved a 45.85 on the medley relay. These are not just elite freestyle splits, not far behind individual finalists like Alessandro Miressi and Egor Kornev, but also significantly lower than his personal best in 2022. Primarily a backstroker, he has arguably delivered his finest performances this year in freestyle during relays, excelling in major finals. Additionally, he recorded a split of 48.04 at Europeans in June to assist Poland in securing a silver medal – six-tenths faster than his long course personal best. Similar to Ryan, the presence of another world-class backstroker in Kacper Stokowski might lead to him anchoring the medley more frequently in the future, possibly contributing to even greater Polish relay achievements.

Peter Varjasi

Varjasi qualifies thanks to his display in 4 finals this year, culminating in leading Germany to a new national record in Paris. After lowering his personal best to 48.45 at the German Trials in April, he then recorded splits of 48.15, 48.20, and 48.26 across three finals at Europeans (where he only clocked 48.7 individually), securing bronze in the mixed freestyle relay. The pinnacle came in Paris, where he split 47.92 to secure that record-setting relay. He excelled in every single final, consistently outperforming his flat-start best and contributing to significant national triumphs – what else could be desired?

Hunter Armstrong

Armstrong began the year already a fairly competent 100 freestyler and was merely a heats-only swimmer at the world championships back in 2022, but he has become an essential component of the U.S. men’s relays this year. He kicked off by reducing his personal best from 48.25 to 47.83 while leading off the bronze medal-winning mixed freestyle relay in Doha, but it was in Paris that he truly made an impression. There, he recorded a 46.75 split in the final of the 4x100m free relay, along with a 47.19 while anchoring the medley and a 47.5 in the freestyle relay heats.

All three of these splits are faster than his best flat start of 47.59, but it was his sub-47 split that truly distinguished him. It was the 3rd fastest split of the year, the 29th fastest of all time, and the leg that set the U.S. apart from the competition in that final – ultimately earning the American men one of only two gold medals they secured in Paris. Remarkably, he accomplished this with a sluggish takeover time of 0.37: if he had reduced that to even 0.2, this would have been the ninth-fastest split ever.