SwimSwam Pulse is a recurring feature tracking and analyzing the results of our periodic A3 Performance Polls. You can cast your vote in our newest poll on the SwimSwam homepage, about halfway down the page on the right side, or you can find the poll embedded at the bottom of this post.
Our most recent poll asked SwimSwam readers which world record performance from last year stood above the rest:
Question: What was the top LCM world record swim of 2022?
RESULTS
- David Popovici, men’s 100 free (46.86) – 65.4%
- Ariarne Titmus, women’s 400 free (3:56.40) – 11.7%
- Kristof Milak, men’s 200 butterfly (1:50.34) – 11.7%
- Thomas Ceccon, men’s 100 back (51.60) – 5.8%
- Hunter Armstrong, men’s 50 back (23.71) – 1.3%
- Australia, women’s 800 free relay (7:39.29) – 1.1%
It felt like a fitting year-ending poll to revisit the long course world records that were reset in 2022, but there’s little surprise that one swim secured the vast majority of votes.
David Popovici appeared to be well on his way to breaking Cesar Cielo‘s longstanding super-suited world record of 46.91 in the men’s 100 freestyle after he put up an eye-popping time of 47.30 at the 2021 European Junior Championships at the age of 16. Popovici brought his Romanian and World Junior Record down to 47.13 in the semis at the 2022 World Championships in June, and ultimately won gold in the final, though well off his PB in 47.58.
It was just under two months later at the European Championships where the 17-year-old made history, first entering rarefied air by breaking 47 seconds in the semi-finals (46.98) before taking down Cielo’s world record with a blistering time of 46.86 in the final.
Among super-suited world records, the men’s freestyle marks have historically been the toughest to crack over the last 13 years. Even accounting for Popovici’s record, there remain seven individual long course world records on the books from 2009, four of which come in a men’s freestyle event (50, 200, 400, 800).
With that, it’s easy to see why Popovici’s performance garnered over 65 percent of votes.
Tying for second was Ariarne Titmus‘ record in the women’s 400 free and Kristof Milak‘s mark in the men’s 200 fly.
Titmus opted out of competing at the World Championships, so she showed up in peak form at the Australian Championships in May, taking hold of the 400 free world record that Katie Ledecky had held in her grasp since the 2016 Olympics. Titmus rocketed to a time of 3:56.40, downing Ledecky’s Rio mark of 3:56.46 while eclipsing her previous best of 3:56.69, set when she beat Ledecky head-to-head at the Tokyo Olympics Games.
Milak lowered his own mark in the men’s 200 fly, winning the world title in front of his home crowd in a time of 1:50.34 to erase his previous record of 1:50.73 set at the 2019 World Championships.
That swim in 2019 shockingly crushed Michael Phelps‘ decade-old world record of 1:51.51, and Milak had been disappointed by failing to take down his own record at the Tokyo Games. He changed coaches and dealt with multiple illnesses in the time between the Olympics and World Championships, but still managed to deliver a world record when it was all on the line, making him the fastest man in history by 1.17 seconds. He even said after that swim that he now has his eyes on 1:49.
Note: Milak’s swim was initially missing when the poll was first released—if you were someone who wanted to vote Milak but didn’t have the option, sound off in the comments below.
Thomas Ceccon bulldozed his way past the world record in the men’s 100 backstroke, knocking a quarter of a second off of Ryan Murphy‘s 2016 mark of 51.85 in 51.60, earning just under six percent of votes.
Hunter Armstrong‘s 50 back and the Aussie women’s 800 free relay rounded out the poll. At the U.S. International Team Trials, Armstrong broke Kliment Kolesnikov record of 23.80 in a time of 23.71, while the Australians took down China’s mark of 7:40.33 from Tokyo 2020 in 7:39.29 at the Commonwealth Games.
Below, vote in our new A3 Performance Poll, which asks: Will Summer McIntosh break a LCM world record in 2023? (And if so, what event?)
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The A3 Performance Poll is courtesy of A3 Performance, a SwimSwam partner.
Although McIntosh’s 4:28 400 IM wasn’t a WR, I believe it was essentially more impressive than half the world records set this year.
It’s not even #2.
Touché
If popovici hadn’t come along, how much longer would 46.91 have held up? Considering we’d had 47.04, 47.10, 47.08, 47.11, 46.96, all from different swimmers between 2009 and now (all of which were in jammers), probably not much longer. Also, his record will likely be broken by him or someone else in the next few years.
If milak hadn’t come along, how much longer would 1:51.51 have held up? The closest time since Phelps would have been 1:52.96 by Le clos in 2012. So the record would still be standing and would probably last another 5-10 years. Now that milak has crushed it by over a second, if he doesn’t further lower it then 1:50.34 could stand for decades.
I… Read more »
The closest would have been Seto 1:52.5, but yes, that’s still a mile away from original Phelps WR.
yes i agree milak had the best world record
I F**king love this!
Not all events are equal. The 100 free is THE flagship event, whether you like it or not, with a legacy stretching over 100 years back to Duke Kahanamoku and Jonny Weissmuller. The 200 fly is incredibly tough and painful, but it will never be at the same level of prestige.
Phelps was a 47.5 100 freestyler, and also competed in the 400IM……………… 200 fly was his best race. And milak crushed it.
48 without a banned suit
Would you say the same for Cielo over Phelps?
No, because Cielo was suited and couldn’t even go 47 in textile. Phelps suit was legs-only for his WR and in any case he went 1:52low in textile.
But for the sake of argument, say we confine it to ARs, I would rank Dressel’s 46.96 over Phelps’ 1:51.
Cielo went 47.92 at the 2012 Olympics.
And 47.84 at 2011 Pan Am Games.
I stand corrected on Cielo’s times.
Thought men and female swimmers were on the same level . Surely the Titmus WR should be rated higher than a new personal best set by the Hungarian . I’m also Aussie so I am 100% biased.
Good to see Titmus at No2, as the first to break a Ledecky record. There wont be another to do it (in the 800m/1500m) in my lifetime!
Her SCM 800 world record probably won’t last a long time but you probably only meant LCM.
I voted for Titmus. So many variables went into that race. She hadn’t expected to be fast in 2022 to begin with. I never thought we’d see her chase a world record. Plus this was hardly her first event of the meet. She had already scared the 200 mark days earlier. In the 400 I assumed and most of the pre race comments thought that her one huge attempt was already spent, and now she would be somewhere around 3:58 or 3:59. Instead all of a sudden she boldly takes it out faster than ever before and is well beyond the world record line.
The Australian commentary really added to the memory of that race. With 25 meters remaining he… Read more »
Of course Popovici’s record is most impressive. The other strokes shouldn’t even be competed. Shouldn’t the sport be about how to swim the fastest? Swimming any other way is a direct handicap. Besides, the other strokes aren’t very stacked with competitors anyway.
Sports in general could be considered a low priority in the grand scheme of the human experience, but if your problem is that only freestyle or running events are logical and that stroke events or hurdles/jumps are silly, you sir are a silly billy dilly
Swimming needs a steeplechase
Pool Rescue 200m Obstacle Race about as close as we get to athletics’ steeplechase.
I understand the argument for Milak. But at least he got on the list eventually. Poor ZSC, who had 2 short course yards swims listed as better than his LC WR on this website, doesn’t even get on this list. What does the man have to do? Swim 2.03???
The disrespect is amazing.
Should’ve been on the list but having said that, his swims in both Budapest & Birmingham (whilst getting the job done) certainly gave the impression that he left his top form back in that pool in Adelaide which most likely muted the ‘memorability’ factor and thus explaining why it may’ve been overlooked.
Also the case that his WR was swum in domestic competition whereas all bar Titmus on “the list” did so in international competition.
Na, all Olympic events way ahead of any non Olympic event WR.
Simple and fact!!!!!
Agree that barring something “otherworldly”; WRs in Olympic events should generally hold a higher stature than non-Olympic AND than ZSC’s mark should have made the cut.
However, I can also see why it ‘slipped through the cracks’ in comparison to most of the others.