Is the World Catching Up to the U.S.?: A Look at the Historical Olympic Swimming Medal Table

Swimming at the 2024 Paris Olympics is over, and the U.S. has won the medal table. Going into the final session, Team USA trailed Australia with six golds to seven, but a pair of world records by Bobby Finke and the women’s 4×100 medley relay solidified the U.S.’s position atop the standings for the ninth-straight Olympics.

While the U.S. has been historically dominant in pool swimming at the Olympics, this meet showed the rest of the world is catching up. Through the first four days, all six individual titles contested to that point had been won by European men. The American men’s sole gold came at the 11th hour, thanks to Finke defending his 1500 free title.

Still, it will be a long time before a country starts to close on the United States’ dominating 607 Olympic swimming medals, 265 of which are gold. For reference, Australia is in second with 230 total medals, 76 gold. (Even if you add in the eight medals earned by Australasia, a combined team with Australian and New Zealand athletes from 1908 and 1912, it hardly makes a difference.)

United States of Backstroke

It probably won’t come as a surprise that the stroke the United States has been most dominant in historically is a backstroke event. Prior to Paris, exactly 50% of all Olympic medals in the men’s 100 backstroke belonged to the U.S, with 15 of those being gold.

With the results in Paris, the balance was tipped to 49.4%, but it’s still an impressive result considering that the men’s 100 backstroke is one of the longest standing Olympic events. It has been contested since 1908 with only one absence in 1964.

The 200 back is another similarly dominant event for the U.S. with 43.1% of all medals. This is one event where it appears the world has caught up; an American man missed the podium in Paris for the first time since 1992.

As a final note in the 200 back, Apostolos Christou earned Greece’s first medal in the event with the silver… and Greece’s first medal in a swimming event since 1896.

The Great Equalizer

Across both the men’s and women’s events, the 200 breaststroke is the most likely candidate for another country to surpass the U.S.’s lead in the medal count: 20.8% of medals belong to the women, while only 18.5% of medals belong to the men.

The second place nation on the women’s side stands as the Soviet Union, who won’t be catching up any time soon (13.9%, 16.7% if you add in Russia), but the men look far more vulnerable. Japan is already winning the gold medal count six to five, and has 14.8% of medals of any color.

Kate Douglass won the 200 breast for the American women, while American Record holder Matt Fallon failed to advance to the final.

The 200 breast is also a long-standing Olympic event, making its 24th and 26th performance for women and men respectively in Paris.

Jury Still Out in New Events

The United States has won 50% of medals in the women’s 1500 freestyle, with a catch. Paris was only the second Olympic Games that the event was contested, and only six medals have ever been distributed. Two of them belong to Katie Ledecky.

It’s a similar story in the men’s 800 freestyle, where the U.S. is tied with Italy for most medals. More accurately, Bobby Finke and Gregorio Paltrinieri are tied for the most medals.

While the U.S. does currently have a formidable 1-2 punch between training partners Ledecky and Finke, it would be presumptuous to say the Americans are as dominant in these events as the backstroke discussed earlier.

The 4×100 mixed medley relay is another case with an asterisk. It’s the only event in which the United States does not hold a majority of medals. They missed the podium entirely due to a baffling line-up in Tokyo, but bounced back for gold and a world record in Paris.

The story is still being written for these three events, which are the youngest on the pool swimming schedule with only two Olympic appearances. In second is the women’s 4×200 freestyle relay, which first appeared in 1996.

In Conclusion

While the United States, particularly the men, looked far more vulnerable in Paris than they have in previous years, by the numbers there is no denying the American legacy in the pool.

But the U.S. won single-digit golds at these Olympics, the fewest in their nine year streak atop the table. 19 distinct countries won medals at the Games. All signs point to swimming growing more competitive around the world, which can only be good for the continued growth of the sport.