By Sophie Kaufman on SwimSwam
After an unprecedented year of racing that included the Olympics sandwiched between the Long Course and Short Course World Championships, it’s time to start releasing our fifth annual Top 100 list—check out last year’s rankings here.
As in previous years, we’ve taken a statistically driven approach reliant primarily upon world rankings and medals won at the Olympics, and to a lesser extent, Short Course Worlds and the 2024 Worlds in Doha. We’ve also accounted for things like potential, future medal opportunities, injuries, and versatility. Long-course is weighted more heavily than short-course, though performance potential in both formats is factored into our rankings.
After a large contingent of Russian and Belarusian swimmers raced at Short Course Worlds in December, those swimmers have started to move back up the rankings after they were low on the lists last year due to lack of competition.
We’ll be breaking down the top 100 into multiple installments, so keep an eye out as they’re released.
These lists are, by nature, subjective. If you disagree, leave your thoughts/ranks in the comments.
Thank you to Daniel Takata for his help with the data and compiling the rankings. Madeline Folsom contributed to this report.
Women’s Rankings:
- #100 – #91
- #90 – #81
- #80 – #71
- #70 – #61
- #60 – #51
- #50 – #41
- #40 – #31
- #30 – #21
- #20 – #11
- #10 – #1
#40: Anastasia Gorbenko, Israel (2024 Rank: 74) — Anastasia Gorbenko was flying high at the start of the year, swimming lifetime bests in the 200 IM, 400 IM, 100 breaststroke, 100 freestyle, and 200 freestyle. That early season success, which included a silver medal at the Doha World Championships (400 IM) and four golds at the 2024 European Championships, didn’t carry over to the Olympic Games for the 21-year-old. In Paris, Gorbenko did not make the final in any of her events; her best finish was 9th in the 200 IM. She hasn’t raced since the Olympics, and her recent announcement that she will train at the University of Louisville is an intriguing one.
#39: Shayna Jack, Australia (2024 Rank: 15) — Australian 25-year-old Shayna Jack has been a mainstay in the sprint freestyle events and as an Australian relay member at the last three World Championships, and this year is not shaping up to be any different. At the 2024 Worlds, Jack won a bronze medal in the women’s 100 freestyle. She also finished 4th in the 50 freestyle, and 7th in the 200 freestyle. Outside of her individual events, Jack was a member of the mixed 4×100 freestyle relay and 4×100 medley relay, the women’s 4×100 freestyle, 4×200 free, and 4×100 medley relays for Australia, all of which won medals. At the Australian Trials, Jack won the 50 free and placed 2nd in the 100 freestyle. She went on to swim the events at the Olympic Games, where she finished 8th in the 50 and 5th in the 100. She also participated on the Olympic Record women’s 4×100 freestyle relay, and the prelims 4×200 freestyle relay which ultimately won gold. Jack appeared in the top 20 in three events in the long course 2024 rankings, the 50 free (5th), 100 free (9th), and 200 free (18th).
#38: Lilly King, USA (2024 Rank: 13) — Lilly King has said that the Paris Games were her last Olympics, but she has yet to make anything official beyond that. She tied for 4th in the 100 breaststroke (1:05.60) in Paris, a hundredths out of the bronze medal position, then took 8th in the 200 breaststroke (2:25.91). Her 200 breaststroke season-best came in the semifinals, where she swam 2:23.25. King did earn a medal in Paris, helping the U.S. win gold in a world record. She once again factored on a world-record-setting medley relay at the 2024 Short Course World Championships, as the U.S. women smashed the 4×100 medley relay standard. She added a silver in the 100 breast and bronze in the 50 breast as well. King may be winding her professional swimming career down, but she showed last year that she’s still a contender in the breaststroke events and can come through on the relays.
#37: Yu Yiting, China (2024 Rank: 20) — The versatile Yu Yiting, 19, didn’t improve upon the intriguing 2:07.75 she swam in the 200 IM at the 2023 Asian Games, which narrowly missed Ye Shiwen’s Asian record from 2012, but she did take steps forward on the international stage by winning her first World Championship gold medal and her first Olympic medals, courtesy of her swims on China’s relays. The 200 IM field is crowded at the top, but what helps keep Yu so high in these rankings is her versatility. She ranked top 50 in the world in four events last season and swam on China’s bronze medal-winning 4×100 freestyle and 4×100 medley relays at the Olympics. Yu did hit an Asian record at the Singapore stop on the World Cup—where she finished 4th overall—clocking 57.44 in the 100 IM.
#36: Eneli Jefimova, Estonia (2024 Rank: 63) — The Estonian breaststroke star Eneli Jefimova has had a successful career as a junior. After turning 18 in December, she’s beginning to look beyond the junior ranks. She swam at her second Olympic Games in July, where she made her first Olympic final and finished 8th in the 100 breaststroke. She also competed in the 200 breaststroke, taking 23rd. Earlier in the season, Jefimova won gold in the 100 breaststroke at the European Championships and swam a lifetime best 1:06.08 to win at the European Juniors a month later. She made a global international podium in December, taking 100 breast bronze at the 2024 Short Course Worlds in Budapest. Jefimova has committed to join NC State in the fall of 2025, which is something to keep an eye on as she continues to transition onto the senior international stage.
#35: Elizabeth Dekkers, Australia (2024 Rank: 33) — Elizabeth Dekkers, 20, is a 200 butterfly specialist. She announced herself on the international scene with a silver medal at the 2023 World Championships and continued to improve this season, hitting a lifetime best of 2:05.20 at April’s Australian Nationals. The time ranks her 4th on the season. She wasn’t able to match it the rest of the year; her best swim at her debut Olympics was her 2:06.17 in the semifinals before a 2:07.11 for 4th place in the final. Dekkers climbed on the podium at the 2024 Short Course World Championships, winning bronze in a lifetime best 2:02.91. Dekkers doesn’t really have another event to add to her lineup on the global stage, but the 200 fly isn’t the deepest field on the women’s side, which gives Dekkers plenty of opportunities to pick up hardware.
#34: Benedetta Pilato, Italy (2024 Rank: 35) — At just 20 years old, former world record holder Benedetta Pilato has had a long career. She fired off a promising lifetime best and national record of 1:05.44 at Sette Colli in the spring, which would’ve earned silver at the Paris Olympics. Instead, Pilato found herself off the podium in a tie for 4th, just a hundredth away from the podium (1:05.60). Pilato is a sprint breaststroke specialist, and the upcoming World Championships give her a chance to showcase her speed in her best event, the 50 breaststroke.
#33: Kylie Masse, Canada (2024 Rank: 43) — Kaylee McKeown and Regan Smith have taken over the women’s backstroke scene, but Kylie Masse has kept chugging along even as the brightest spotlight shifted. Masse’s tenacity was on full display in the Olympic 200 backstroke final, as she fought to remain in the podium picture throughout the race and got her hand on the wall for bronze in a season-best 2:05.57. Earlier in the meet, she placed 4th in the 100 backstroke with a 58.29, slightly off the season-best 57.94 she swam at the Canadian Trials. Masse has always been a versatile backstroker and put that on display at the 2024 Short Course Worlds. She won bronze in the 50 backstroke, becoming the most decorated Canadian swimmer at the World Championships with her 20th medal. It would take a huge effort for Masse to rejoin McKeown and Smith’s battle for gold, but she’s still a podium threat from the 50 to 200.
#32: Mona McSharry, Ireland (2024 Rank: 55) — Mona McSharry was one of the surprises of the Olympic Games. After swimming a lifetime best of 1:05.51 which ranks as the 5th fastest time of the year, McSharry held strong in the final. She clocked 1:05.59, getting her hands on the wall for the bronze medal. It was Ireland’s first Olympic swimming medal since 1996. She made the semifinals in the 200 breast, taking 11th (2:24.48) and split 1:05.38 on Ireland’s medley relay. McSharry has been representing Ireland at the senior international level for years, but she reached a new level in 2024.
#31: Iona Anderson, Australia (2024 Rank: NR) — An up and coming sprint backstroker for Australia, the teenaged Iona Anderson continued to take steps in the right direction during 2024. She took advantage of a depleted field at the 2024 World Championships, winning gold on the women’s medley relay and silver in the 50/100 backstroke, which are her first World Championship medals. Then, she qualified for her first Olympics, where she earned two medals (1 silver, 1 bronze) from her participation on the women’s and mixed medley prelims relays. Anderson finished 5th in the women’s 100 backstroke in Paris (58.98), about a half-second off the 58.43 lifetime best she swam at the Australian Trials, which ranks 7th fastest on the season. Anderson also competed at the 2024 Short Course World Championships, where she just missed the podium in the 100 backstroke with a 4th place finish (56.08). A stronger field at the 2025 World Championships will be a good test for Anderson this year as she aims to continue her march up the world backstroke rankings.
Read the full story on SwimSwam: SwimSwam’s Top 100 For 2025: Women’s #31-40
