Alarm bells began ringing in U.S. swimming a year ago after Australia won 13 gold medals and the U.S. seven at the 2023 world championships: Was this a sign of a glorious decline, a sign of international excitement or a passing phenomenon that could be corrected?
Probably all of it. For the first time since 1945, U.S. swimmers will not set any world records, long or short, in 2023. But they will break 17 world records, a sign that the world as a whole is speeding up.
But if you’re trying to guess which team will come out on top in both gold and total medals at the Paris Summer Olympics, the U.S. is still the smart choice. While the top individual stars may come from other countries, the overall depth of talent still skews toward the red, white and blue.
The breakdown of the Olympic races is as follows:
Men’s 50m Freestyle
Money: Cameron McEvoy, Australia
Silver: Ben Proud, UK
bronze: Caleb Dressel, USA
Men’s 100m Freestyle
Money: David Popovici, Romania
Silver: Pan Zhanle, China
bronze: Jack Alexie, USA
Men’s 200m Freestyle
Money: David Popovici, Romania
Silver: Lucas Martens, Germany
bronze: Luke Hobson, USA
Men’s 400m Freestyle
Money: Lucas Martens, Germany
Silver: Sam Short, Australia
bronze: Kim Woo-min, South Korea
Men’s 800m Freestyle
Money: Elijah Winnington, Australia
Silver: Bobby Finke, USA
bronze: Sam Short, Australia
Men’s 1,500m Freestyle
Money: Bobby Finke, USA
Silver: Daniel Whiffen, Ireland
bronze: Florian Wellbrock, Germany
Men’s 100m backstroke
Money: Thomas Ceccon, Italy
Silver: Ryan Murphy, USA
bronze: Xu Jiayu, China
Men’s 200m backstroke
Money: Ryan Murphy, USA
Silver: Hugo Gonzalez, Spain
bronze: Hubert Koss, Hungary
Men’s 100m breaststroke
Money: Adam Peaty, UK
Silver: Qin Haiyang, China
bronze: Nick Fink, USA
Men’s 200m breaststroke
Money: Qin Haiyang, China
Silver: Leon Marchand, France
bronze: Ippei Watanabe, Japan
Men’s 100m Butterfly
Money: Caleb Dressel, USA
Silver: Josh Liendo, Canada
bronze: Noé Ponty, Switzerland
Men’s 200m Butterfly
Money: Christoph Milak, Hungary
Silver: Leon Marchand, France
bronze: Ilya Karun, Canada
Men’s 200m Individual Medley
Money: Leon Marchand, France
Silver: Wang Shun, China
bronze: Carson Foster, USA
Men’s 400m Individual Medley
Money: Leon Marchand, France
Silver: Carson Foster, USA
bronze: Chase Kalis, USA
Men’s 400m Freestyle Relay
Money: America
Silver: England
bronze: China
Men’s 800m Freestyle Relay
Money: England
Silver: America
bronze: Australia
Men’s 400m Medley Relay
Money: America
Silver: China
bronze: England
Women’s 50m Freestyle
Money: Sarah Sjostrom, Sweden
Silver: Kasia Wasik, Poland
bronze: Shayna Jack, Australia
Women’s 100m Freestyle
Money: Molly O’Callaghan, Australia
Silver: Siobhan Hoagy, Hong Kong
bronze: Sarah Sjostrom, Sweden
Women’s 200m Freestyle
Money: Arianne Titmuss, Australia
Silver: Molly O’Callaghan, Australia
bronze: Siobhan Hoagy, Hong Kong
Women’s 400m Freestyle
Money: Arianne Titmuss, Australia
Silver: Summer McIntosh, Canada
bronze: Katie Ledecky, USA
Women’s 800m Freestyle
Money: Katie Ledecky, USA
Silver: Arianne Titmuss, Australia
bronze: Simona Quadarella, Italy
Women’s 1500m Freestyle
Money: Katie Ledecky, USA
Silver: Simona Quadarella, Italy
bronze: Isabel Goese, Germany
Women’s 100m backstroke
Money: Regan Smith, USA
Silver: Kayleigh McKeon, Australia
bronze: Kathryn Berkoff, USA
Women’s 200m backstroke
Money: Kayleigh McKeon, Australia
Silver: Regan Smith, USA
bronze: Phoebe Bacon, USA
Women’s 100m breaststroke
Money: Tangsen Pavilion, China
Silver: Lily King, USA
bronze: Benedetta Pilate, Italy
Women’s 200m breaststroke
Money: Kate Douglas, USA
Silver: Tatiana Smith, South Africa
bronze: Tess Schouten, Netherlands
Women’s 100m Butterfly
Money: Gretchen Walsh, USA
Silver: Tori Haske, USA
bronze: Zhang Yufei (China)
Women’s 200m Butterfly
Money: Summer McIntosh, Canada
Silver: Regan Smith, USA
bronze: Zhang Yufei (China)
Women’s 200m Individual Medley
Money: Kate Douglas, USA
Silver: Kayleigh McKeon, Australia
bronze: Summer McIntosh, Canada
Women’s 400m Individual Medley
Money: Summer McIntosh, Canada
Silver: Katie Grimes, USA
bronze: Anastasia Golubenko, Israel
Women’s 400m Freestyle Relay
Money: Australia
Silver: America
bronze: China
Women’s 800m Freestyle Relay
Money: Australia
Silver: America
bronze: China
Women’s 400m Medley Relay
Money: America
Silver: Australia
bronze: China
Mixed Medley Relay
Money: America
Silver: Australia
bronze: China
Medal Count
America: 13 gold medals, 11 silver medals, 9 bronze medals
Australia: 8 gold medals, 7 silver medals, 3 bronze medals
China: 2 gold medals, 4 silver medals, 8 bronze medals
Canada: 2 gold, 2 silver, 2 bronze
England: 2 gold medals, 2 silver medals, 1 bronze medal
France: 2 gold, 2 silver, 0 bronze
Romania: 2 gold medals, 0 silver medals, 0 bronze medals
Italy: 1 gold medal, 1 silver medal, 2 bronze medals
Germany: 1 gold medal, 1 silver medal, 1 bronze medal
Hungary: 1 gold medal, 0 silver medals, 1 bronze medal
Sweden: 1 gold medal, 0 silver medals, 1 bronze medal
Hong Kong: 0 gold medals, 1 silver medal, 1 bronze medal
Poland: 0 gold medals, 1 silver medal, 0 bronze medals
Ireland: 0 gold medals, 1 silver medal, 0 bronze medals
Spain: 0 gold medals, 1 silver medal, 0 bronze medals
Netherlands: 0 gold medals, 0 silver medals, 1 bronze medal
South Korea: 0 gold medals, 0 silver medals, 1 bronze medal
Japan: 0 gold medals, 0 silver medals, 1 bronze medal
Israel: 0 gold medals, 0 silver medals, 1 bronze medal
