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Swimming at the Summer Olympics

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Swimming at the Summer Olympics
IOC CodeSWM
OWS (Marathon Swimming)
Governing bodyWorld Aquatics
Events37 (men: 18; women: 18; mixed: 1)
Summer Olympics

Swimming has been a sport at every modern Summer Olympics. It has been open to women since 1912. At the Olympics, swimming has the second-highest number of medal-contested events (after athletics).

Summary

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Games Year Events Best Nation
1 1896 4  Hungary (1)
2 1900 7  Great Britain (1)
3 1904 9  Germany (1)
4 1908 6  Great Britain (2)
5 1912 9  Germany (2)
6
7 1920 10  United States (1)
8 1924 11  United States (2)
9 1928 11  United States (3)
10 1932 11  Japan (1)
11 1936 11  Japan (2)
12
13
14 1948 11  United States (4)
15 1952 11  United States (5)
16 1956 13  Australia (1)
17 1960 15  United States (6)
Games Year Events Best Nation
18 1964 18  United States (7)
19 1968 29  United States (8)
20 1972 29  United States (9)
21 1976 26  United States (10)
22 1980 26  East Germany (1)
23 1984 29  United States (11)
24 1988 31  East Germany (2)
25 1992 31  United States (12)
26 1996 32  United States (13)
27 2000 32  United States (14)
28 2004 32  United States (15)
29 2008 34  United States (16)
30 2012 34  United States (17)
31 2016 34  United States (18)
32 2020 37  United States (19)
33 2024 37  United States (20)

Long-course swimming

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Men's events

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Past events

Women's events

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Mixed events

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Medal table

[edit]

Last updated after the 2020 Summer Olympics[3]

RankNationGoldSilverBronzeTotal
1 United States (USA)257178144579
2 Australia (AUS)697073212
3 East Germany (GDR)38322292
4 Hungary (HUN)28262074
5 Japan (JPN)24273283
6 Great Britain (GBR)20293079
7 Netherlands (NED)19201958
8 China (CHN)16211249
9 Germany (GER)13183061
10 Soviet Union (URS)12212659
11 Canada (CAN)9182754
12 Sweden (SWE)9161439
13 France (FRA)8161943
14 South Africa (RSA)77620
15 Unified Team (EUN)63110
16 Italy (ITA)561526
17 Russia (RUS)49922
18 Ukraine (UKR)4329
19 West Germany (FRG)351422
20 Denmark (DEN)35715
21 Romania (ROU)3249
22 Ireland (IRL)3014
 Tunisia (TUN)3014
24 Zimbabwe (ZIM)2417
25 Australasia (ANZ)2338
26 Spain (ESP)2248
27 ROC (ROC)2215
28 New Zealand (NZL)2136
29 Austria (AUT)16512
30 United Team of Germany (EUA)15612
31 Brazil (BRA)141015
32 Greece (GRE)1326
 Poland (POL)1326
34 South Korea (KOR)1304
35 Belgium (BEL)1225
36 Costa Rica (CRC)1124
37 Argentina (ARG)1113
 Bulgaria (BUL)1113
39 Yugoslavia (YUG)1102
40 Mexico (MEX)1012
 Suriname (SUR)1012
42 Kazakhstan (KAZ)1001
 Lithuania (LTU)1001
 Singapore (SIN)1001
45 Belarus (BLR)0213
46 Hong Kong (HKG)0202
 Slovakia (SVK)0202
48 Finland (FIN)0145
49 Cuba (CUB)0112
 Norway (NOR)0112
51 Croatia (CRO)0101
 Serbia (SRB)0101
 Slovenia (SLO)0101
54 Switzerland (SUI)0033
55 Philippines (PHI)0022
56 Trinidad and Tobago (TRI)0011
 Venezuela (VEN)0011
Totals (57 entries)5895865871,762

Marathon swimming

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Events

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Event 96 1900 04 08 12 20 24 28 32 36 48 52 56 60 64 68 72 76 80 84 88 92 96 2000 04 08 12 16 20 24 Years
Men's 10 km Not yet introduced X X X X X 5
Women's 10 km Not yet introduced X X X X X 5
Events 2 2 2 2 2

Medal table

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Last updated after the 2024 Summer Olympics[4]

RankNationGoldSilverBronzeTotal
1 Netherlands (NED)4105
2 Hungary (HUN)2114
3 Germany (GER)1214
4 Brazil (BRA)1012
5 Russia (RUS)1001
 Tunisia (TUN)1001
7 Great Britain (GBR)0213
8 Italy (ITA)0134
9 Australia (AUS)0112
10 Greece (GRE)0101
 United States (USA)0101
12 Canada (CAN)0011
 France (FRA)0011
Totals (13 entries)10101030

Overall medal table

[edit]

Last updated after the 2024 Summer Olympics

RankNationGoldSilverBronzeTotal
1 United States (USA)265192151608
2 Australia (AUS)767977232
3 East Germany (GDR)38322292
4 Hungary (HUN)32282181
5 Japan (JPN)24283284
6 Netherlands (NED)23212165
7 Great Britain (GBR)21353187
8 China (CHN)18241961
9 Germany (GER)15203267
10 Soviet Union (URS)12212659
11 Canada (CAN)12203163
12 France (FRA)12172251
13 Sweden (SWE)11161441
14 South Africa (RSA)88622
15 Italy (ITA)782035
16 Unified Team (EUN)63110
17 Russia (RUS)59923
18 Ukraine (UKR)4329
19 Romania (ROU)42511
20 Ireland (IRL)4037
21 West Germany (FRG)351422
22 Denmark (DEN)35715
23 Tunisia (TUN)3014
24 Brazil (BRA)241117
25 Zimbabwe (ZIM)2417
26 Australasia (ANZ)2338
27 Spain (ESP)2248
28 ROC (ROC)2215
29 New Zealand (NZL)2136
30 Austria (AUT)16512
31 United Team of Germany (EUA)15612
32 Greece (GRE)1528
33 Poland (POL)1326
34 South Korea (KOR)1315
35 Belgium (BEL)1225
36 Costa Rica (CRC)1124
37 Argentina (ARG)1113
 Bulgaria (BUL)1113
39 Yugoslavia (YUG)1102
40 Mexico (MEX)1012
 Suriname (SUR)1012
42 Kazakhstan (KAZ)1001
 Lithuania (LTU)1001
 Singapore (SIN)1001
45 Hong Kong (HKG)0224
46 Belarus (BLR)0213
47 Slovakia (SVK)0202
48 Finland (FIN)0145
49 Cuba (CUB)0112
 Norway (NOR)0112
51 Croatia (CRO)0101
 Serbia (SRB)0101
 Slovenia (SLO)0101
54 Switzerland (SUI)0044
55 Philippines (PHI)0022
56 Trinidad and Tobago (TRI)0011
 Venezuela (VEN)0011
Totals (57 entries)6336326311,896

Nations

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Nation 96 00 04 08 12 20 24 28 32 36 48 52 56 60 64 68 72 76 80 84 88 92 96 00 04 08 12 16 20 24 Years
 Afghanistan (AFG) 1 1 2
 Albania (ALB) 1 2 2 2 2 2 2 7
 Algeria (ALG) 5 1 1 3 6 5 1 1 3 2 10
 American Samoa (ASA) 2 2 2 1 4
 Andorra (AND) 1 2 2 1 2 2 6
 Angola (ANG) 5 8 3 1 2 1 2 2 2 2 2 11
 Antigua and Barbuda (ANT) 2 1 2 2 2 2 6
 Argentina (ARG) 4 4 5 1 17 7 3 7 8 4 5 6 2 3 7 13 10 11 4 5 5 3 22
 Armenia (ARM) 1 2 1 1 2 2 2 2 8
 Aruba (ARU) 2 1 2 2 2 2 6
 Australasia (ANZ) 5 9 2
 Australia (AUS) 1 6 5 5 5 5 10 10 26 26 32 24 24 28 17 31 25 33 33 44 41 43 47 39 37 44 26
 Austria (AUT) 2 3 1 1 8 3 8 2 3 10 7 3 2 1 5 6 6 2 4 8 6 12 11 6 7 5 26
 Azerbaijan (AZE) 1 2 4 12 2 2 2 2 8
 Bahamas (BAH) 2 2 1 2 1 4 4 4 1 3 2 2 12
 Bahrain (BRN) 2 2 2 2 2 1 2 2 8
 Bangladesh (BAN) 2 1 1 2 2 2 1 2 2 2 10
 Barbados (BAR) 1 1 1 2 3 4 4 1 2 2 1 11
 Belarus (BLR) 10 9 9 8 8 8 6 7
 Belgium (BEL) 1 7 5 12 6 5 6 10 6 3 2 6 4 10 7 4 7 7 4 9 7 13 10 2 4 25
 Benin (BEN) 2 2 2 2 2 2 6
 Bermuda (BER) 5 5 2 1 1 6 1 1 2 1 2 2 12
 Bhutan (BHU) 1 1 2
 Bolivia (BOL) 1 1 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 11
 Bosnia and Herzegovina (BIH) 2 2 2 1 1 2 2 2 2 9
 Botswana (BOT) 2 2 1 2 4
 Brazil (BRA) 2 8 16 13 12 4 5 4 4 12 9 9 7 15 9 10 13 23 25 19 36 27 20 23
 British Virgin Islands (IVB) 1 1 2
 Brunei (BRU) 1 1 2 3
 Bulgaria (BUL) 3 3 5 13 8 5 1 6 6 4 4 3 5 4 14
 Burkina Faso (BUR) 1 2 2 2 2 2 6
 Burundi (BDI) 2 1 2 2 2 2 6
 Cambodia (CAM) 4 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 9
 Cameroon (CMR) 1 2 2 2 2 5
 Canada (CAN) 1 1 3 2 6 14 14 9 9 8 8 12 15 38 38 37 31 29 27 39 20 27 33 30 26 29 26
 Cape Verde (CPV) 2 2 2
 Cayman Islands (CAY) 3 2 2 2 2 2 6
 Central African Republic (CAF) 1 2 1 2 4
 Chile (CHI) 4 4 1 1 2 3 2 1 2 2 2 11
 China (CHN) 2 1 1 14 24 16 21 21 28 42 51 45 30 32 14
 Chinese Taipei (TPE) 1 4 3 5 8 8 13 13 5 3 2 3 2 13
 Colombia (COL) 2 3 1 9 4 5 2 1 1 1 5 5 3 5 3 4 2 2 18
 Comoros (COM) 1 1 2 2 4
 Republic of the Congo (CGO) 1 2 2 2 1 2 2 1 2 9
 Cook Islands (COK) 1 2 2 1 2 5
 Costa Rica (CRC) 1 1 2 1 8 1 3 2 1 2 2 1 2 2 14
 Croatia (CRO) 11 17 13 13 4 2 2 3 8
 Cuba (CUB) 2 2 2 1 3 2 3 7 2 2 1 2 2 2 14
 Cyprus (CYP) 4 2 2 7 5 2 1 2 2 2 10
 Czechoslovakia (TCH) 4 9 1 3 3 4 2 3 3 1 3 1 5 6 8 17
 Czech Republic (CZE) 10 6 12 10 6 8 9 5 8
 Democratic Republic of the Congo (COD) 1 2 2
 Denmark (DEN) 1 5 1 4 5 2 18 6 9 2 4 3 3 6 2 1 3 15 8 10 7 6 9 10 15 11 7 27
 Djibouti (DJI) 1 1 2 2 4
 Dominica (DMA) 1 2 2 3
 Dominican Republic (DOM) 1 1 2 2 2 2 6
 East Germany (GDR) 24 37 23 30 26 5
 East Timor (TLS) 2 2 2
 Ecuador (ECU) 3 1 1 2 1 5 3 1 2 3 3 4 3 13
 Egypt (EGY) 1 6 3 2 8 5 2 2 6 2 3 3 7 4 3 15
 El Salvador (ESA) 14 7 2 1 2 1 1 1 2 2 2 2 12
 Equatorial Guinea (GEQ) 2 1 1 3
 Eritrea (ERI) 1 2 2
 Estonia (EST) 2 4 1 4 6 9 2 2 3 2 8
 Ethiopia (ETH) 2 2 1 1 4
 Fiji (FIJ) 3 5 3 2 2 1 1 2 2 2 2 11
 Finland (FIN) 3 6 1 2 1 1 2 1 13 1 5 6 3 1 1 1 2 1 12 12 7 7 5 7 8 5 2 27
 France (FRA) 47 4 3 13 20 13 5 8 17 16 16 19 9 16 18 16 13 16 25 25 25 19 21 35 31 30 27 33 28
 Gabon (GAB) 1 2 2 3
 The Gambia (GAM) 1 1 2 3
 Georgia (GEO) 1 1 2 1 2 2 2 7
 Germany (GER) 6 4 5 17 19 2 24 9 18 26 38 24 28 35 35 25 30 29 31 25 20
 Ghana (GHA) 2 2 2 3
 Great Britain (GBR) 7 25 18 18 26 21 15 22 32 26 22 32 33 27 36 40 32 33 31 28 39 32 37 24 44 28 32 33 28
 Greece (GRE) 15 1 1 5 2 2 5 2 2 3 4 2 8 14 28 18 14 15 12 17 20
 Grenada (GRN) 1 2 1 2 2 2 6
 Guam (GUM) 4 7 2 1 1 1 3 2 2 9
 Guatemala (GUA) 1 3 6 1 5 2 1 4 1 1 2 2 2 13
 Guinea (GUI) 2 1 2 1 2 2 2 7
 Guinea-Bissau (GBS) 1 1
 Guyana (GUY) 1 1 2 2 2 2 6
 Haiti (HAI) 1 2 2 2 4
 Honduras (HON) 6 3 4 1 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 11
 Hong Kong (HKG) 4 2 1 3 3 2 4 8 10 8 3 9 7 4 3 7 9 7 18
 Hungary (HUN) 1 1 2 10 8 6 8 5 13 15 15 16 18 19 14 16 8 13 13 13 21 18 25 28 32 35 34 23 28
 Iceland (ISL) 8 2 2 4 4 3 4 6 2 3 9 7 8 7 3 2 2 17
 Independent Olympic Participants (IOP) 4 1
 India (IND) 1 7 5 2 1 2 2 1 4 1 2 3 2 12
 Independent Olympic Athletes (IOA) 2 1
 Individual Neutral Athletes (AIN) 4 1
 Indonesia (INA) 1 3 2 1 1 2 1 6 3 2 1 2 2 2 13
 Iran (IRI) 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 9
 Iraq (IRQ) 2 1 1 1 1 5
 Ireland (IRL) 2 4 7 4 3 2 5 2 5 4 2 3 4 3 9 12 16
 Israel (ISR) 1 1 4 2 6 1 2 3 1 4 4 10 2 7 5 7 13 28 18
 Italy (ITA) 2 4 2 4 6 5 2 10 7 23 16 10 24 13 13 26 21 24 14 21 29 34 35 38 38 40 26
 Ivory Coast (CIV) 2 1 2 2 1 5
 Jamaica (JAM) 1 1 4 1 4 3 1 2 2 2 10
 Japan (JPN) 2 6 10 23 21 22 19 21 38 20 15 15 22 23 25 27 21 20 31 29 36 35 29 23
 Jordan (JOR) 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 8
 Kazakhstan (KAZ) 7 8 11 12 7 3 1 2 8
 Kenya (KEN) 1 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 8
 Kosovo (KOS) 2 2 2 3
 Kuwait (KUW) 2 3 5 2 3 3 2 1 2 2 2 11
 Kyrgyzstan (KGZ) 12 18 6 3 2 2 1 2 8
 Laos (LAO) 1 2 2 1 2 2 2 7
 Latvia (LAT) 1 4 4 5 2 2 2 2 2 9
 Lebanon (LIB) 1 2 2 4 4 1 2 5 2 2 2 2 2 13
 Lesotho (LES) 1 1
 Libya (LBA) 4 2 2 1 2 1 2 7
 Liechtenstein (LIE) 1 2 2 2
 Lithuania (LTU) 2 8 6 10 9 4 6 6 7 9
 Luxembourg (LUX) 2 4 3 4 1 1 4 1 1 2 1 3 2 4 1 3 2 1 17
 North Macedonia (MKD) 4 4 4 2 2 2 2 2 8
 Madagascar (MAD) 3 1 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 10
 Malawi (MAW) 2 2 1 2 2 2 6
 Malaysia (MAS) 2 2 7 2 1 1 2 1 5 9 4 5 2 3 2 2 16
 Maldives (MDV) 2 1 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 9
 Mali (MLI) 2 2 2 2 2 1 2 7
 Malta (MLT) 1 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 8
 Marshall Islands (MHL) 2 2 2 2 2 5
 Mauritania (MTN) 1 1
 Mauritius (MRI) 6 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 9
 Mexico (MEX) 3 9 8 4 11 10 27 22 9 7 12 10 7 2 7 6 6 9 3 4 6 21
 Federated States of Micronesia (FSM) 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 7
 Moldova (MDA) 5 10 3 2 2 2 2 7
 Monaco (MON) 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 2 2 9
 Mongolia (MGL) 2 1 2 2 2 2 2 7
 Montenegro (MNE) 1 2 2 2 4
 Morocco (MAR) 1 1 1 1 2 2 2 7
 Mozambique (MOZ) 5 2 2 3 1 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 12
 Myanmar (MYA) 1 1 1 1 1 1 6
 Namibia (NAM) 2 1 1 1 1 5
 Nepal (NEP) 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 8
 Netherlands (NED) 4 7 4 12 14 5 14 12 13 19 26 17 19 15 12 16 11 9 20 24 16 18 15 17 16 20 24
 Netherlands Antilles (AHO) 3 1 1 2 1 5
 New Zealand (NZL) 1 1 4 1 2 5 2 4 6 9 8 7 11 14 8 13 15 17 9 7 9 21
 Nicaragua (NCA) 2 1 1 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 10
 Niger (NIG) 2 1 2 1 2 2 2 7
 Nigeria (NGR) 2 2 2 2 2 1 2 7
 Norway (NOR) 5 2 1 1 1 1 3 1 4 7 3 2 6 5 1 4 3 2 4 3 20
 Oman (OMA) 1 1 4 1 1 5
 Pakistan (PAK) 4 2 3 1 1 2 2 2 2 2 2 11
 Palau (PLW) 2 1 1 1 2 2 2 7
 Palestine (PLE) 1 1 2 2 2 2 2 7
 Panama (PAN) 1 3 1 1 1 2 2 2 2 1 2 2 2 13
 Papua New Guinea (PNG) 2 1 2 2 1 2 2 7
 Paraguay (PAR) 3 2 2 2 1 2 2 2 2 2 9
 Peru (PER) 3 6 3 3 4 5 2 2 2 3 2 2 3 2 2 3 16
 Philippines (PHI) 2 3 5 3 1 8 8 2 7 7 3 4 4 5 2 4 5 5 2 2 2 2 22
 Poland (POL) 2 4 7 1 5 4 5 3 8 5 14 11 8 7 15 19 20 17 21 19
 Portugal (POR) 1 1 4 5 3 5 2 2 12 9 12 7 11 10 7 5 9 5 18
 Puerto Rico (PUR) 1 4 9 12 5 3 6 7 3 6 4 2 2 2 2 15
 Qatar (QAT) 1 1 1 2 2 2 1 7
 Rhodesia (RHO) 4 1
 Romania (ROU) 1 2 2 2 3 5 2 5 10 14 11 7 6 4 6 4 3 17
 Russia (RUS) 4 30 28 30 35 35 36 36 8
 Rwanda (RWA) 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 7
 Saar (SAA) 1 1
 Saint Kitts and Nevis (SKN) 1 1
 Saint Lucia (LCA) 2 1 1 1 1 2 1 7
 Saint Vincent and the Grenadines (VIN) 2 1 1 2 2 2 6
 Samoa (SAM) 2 2 1
 San Marino (SMR) 2 2 1 1 2 2 1 1 1 10
 Saudi Arabia (KSA) 2 1 1 1 1 2 6
 Senegal (SEN) 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 9
 Serbia and Montenegro (SCG) 4 7 2
 Serbia (SRB) 9 8 6 7 5 5
 Seychelles (SEY) 4 1 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 7
 Sierra Leone (SLE) 1 2 2 2 4
 Singapore (SGP) 1 3 4 5 5 5 8 5 5 5 3 4 5 13
 Slovakia (SVK) 3 4 2 3 5 3 2 2 8
 Slovenia (SLO) 5 5 6 11 10 12 10 4 5 9
 Solomon Islands (SOL) 1 1 2
 South Africa (RSA) 1 1 5 1 3 6 8 3 10 7 14 8 24 20 13 17 8 17
 South Korea (KOR) 4 1 1 3 15 4 20 17 19 16 15 8 12 15 14
 Soviet Union (URS) 18 10 23 21 31 26 31 39 27 29 9
 Spain (ESP) 2 4 5 6 3 10 11 13 9 14 11 8 11 21 18 23 16 23 14 24 11 20 22
 Sri Lanka (SRI) 1 1 1 2 1 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 12
 Sudan (SUD) 1 1 2 2 2 2 6
 Suriname (SUR) 2 1 3 4 2 2 2 2 2 1 2 11
 Swaziland (SWZ) 1 2 1 2 1 1 1 2 2 9
 Sweden (SWE) 1 12 24 13 14 9 2 5 8 12 5 15 14 16 15 18 24 24 18 17 18 16 15 18 12 11 10 12 28
 Switzerland (SUI) 4 2 1 4 8 8 9 2 4 10 2 3 13 10 4 5 9 13 7 7 8 13 8 23
 Syria (SYR) 1 1 2 1 3 2 2 1 1 9
 Tajikistan (TJK) 2 2 1 2 2 2 6
 Tanzania (TAN) 2 2 2 2 4
 Thailand (THA) 2 2 5 6 8 6 2 2 2 2 2 11
 Togo (TOG) 1 2 1 1 4
 Tonga (TGA) 1 2 2 2 4
 Trinidad and Tobago (TRI) 1 1 1 1 2 3 3 3 1 2 2 2 12
 Tunisia (TUN) 2 1 1 1 2 2 4 2 2 2 10
 Turkey (TUR) 2 2 4 2 3 4 7 9 11 6 4 11 8 13
 Turkmenistan (TKM) 2 2 2 2 2 2 6
 Uganda (UGA) 1 2 1 2 2 2 2 2 8
 Ukraine (UKR) 13 25 27 23 14 7 9 5 8
 United Arab Emirates (UAE) 6 5 1 1 1 1 1 2 1 2 10
 United States (USA) 1 2 25 8 7 22 26 23 27 28 28 30 28 31 48 52 51 51 43 44 40 44 48 43 43 49 47 53 48 29
 Uruguay (URU) 2 1 5 4 1 2 1 1 2 4 4 3 2 2 2 2 16
 Uzbekistan (UZB) 6 10 15 7 2 2 2 7
 Vanuatu (VAN) 2 1
 Venezuela (VEN) 1 1 2 4 12 3 6 7 5 4 13 10 6 4 3 14
 Vietnam (VIE) 1 2 3 2 11 2 2 2 2 1 1 1 2 2 2 15
 Virgin Islands (ISV) 2 7 6 3 1 1 2 1 1 2 2 2 12
 West Germany (FRG) 27 44 22 24 29 5
 Yemen (YEM) 1 2 2 1 2 1 6
 Yugoslavia (YUG) 6 4 6 3 1 9 2 6 5 4 3 3 3 9 22
 Zambia (ZAM) 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 6
 Zimbabwe (ZIM) 2 2 4 4 1 3 2 2 1 2 2 2 10
Nations 4 12 4 14 17 19 23 28 20 29 34 48 33 45 42 51 52 51 41 67 77 92 117 150 152 162 166 169 182 194
Swimmers 19 76 32 100 120 116 118 182 128 248 249 319 235 380 405 468 532 471 333 494 633 641 762 954 937 1026 950 950 1000 852
Year 96 00 04 08 12 20 24 28 32 36 48 52 56 60 64 68 72 76 80 84 88 92 96 00 04 08 12 16 20 24

Olympic records

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The International Olympic Committee recognize the best performances in all 35 current swimming events at the Games as Olympic records.

Notable changes to the sport

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Times have consistently dropped over the years due to better training techniques and new developments within the sport.

In the first four Olympics, competitions were not held in pools, but rather in open water (1896, the Mediterranean Sea; 1900, the Seine; 1904, an artificial lake; 1906, the Mediterranean). The 1904 Olympics' races were the only ones ever measured in yards, instead of the usual metres. A 100-metre pool was built for the 1908 Olympics and was located in the centre of the main stadium's track and field oval. The 1912 Olympics, held in the Stockholm harbor, marked the beginning of electrical timing.

Male swimmers wore full body swimsuits up until the 1940s, which caused more drag in the water than their modern swim-wear counterparts. Also, over the years, pool designs have lessened the drag. Some design considerations allow for the reduction of swimming resistance making the pool faster. Namely, proper pool depth, elimination of waves, elimination of currents, increased lane width, energy absorbing racing lane lines and gutters, and the use of other innovative hydraulic, acoustic, illumination, and swimwear designs.

The 1924 Olympics were the first to use the standard 50-metre pool with marked lanes (a standard that remains to this day). In the freestyle, swimmers originally dove from the pool walls, but diving blocks were first incorporated at the 1936 Summer Olympics. The flip-turn was developed by the 1950s. Swimming goggles were first allowed in 1976.

The butterfly stroke events were not held until 1956. Previous rules permitted the butterfly stroke in breaststroke races. After 1956, when these rules were changed, butterfly became its own stroke entirely.

The 800m event was added to the women’s programme in 1968; whilst longer, this event was not as far as the men’s 1,500m event. This discrepancy was evened out in 2020: that year, the 1,500 metres was included in the women’s programme for the first time and the 800 metres freestyle was added to the men’s programme.

Both men and women were granted the 200 metres freestyle race in 1968, giving swimmers an intermediate distance race between 100 metres and 400 metres.

The women's 4 × 200 metres freestyle relay race was added in 1996—a men's relay race at that distance had been held since 1912; interestingly, the winning time for the women's 4 × 200 metres freestyle relay in 1996 was more than two minutes faster than the men's 4 × 200 metres freestyle relay of 1912. At six Games, the men had two freestyle relay races, while the women had one. Starting with 1996, both genders have two.

The medley relay races (4 × 100 metres) were not held for men or for women until 1960, but they have continued in every Games since then.

Starting in 2008, both men and women compete in 10 km open water marathon swim events.

The mixed 4 × 100 metres medley relay (2 women and 2 men) was added to the programme in the 2020 Olympic Games.

Notes

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  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i Distances at the 1904 Olympics were measured in yards rather than metres. The 50 yard freestyle was 45.7 metres and the 100 yard freestyle and backstroke races were 91.4 metres. The 220, 440, and 880 yard freestyle races were 201, 402, and 805 metres, respectively. Instead of a 1500 metre race, there was a 1 mile race which made for 1609 metres. The 440 yard breaststroke, like the freestyle, was 402 metres. The relay, 4 × 50 yards, was 4 × 45.7 metres.
  2. ^ In 1920, the women's event was 300 metres.
  3. ^ "Olympic Analytics - Medals by Countries". olympanalyt.com. Retrieved 2022-01-31.
  4. ^ "Olympic Analytics - Medals by Countries". olympanalyt.com. Retrieved 2022-01-31.

See also

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References

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