The aquatics discipline of swimming is considered the flagship event at every edition of the World Aquatics Championships since its introduction in 1973. While open water swimming events were added to the program in 1991, it is considered a separate discipline to swimming.
Championships Member federations referred to as winners, second, and third, in the table below, are the top three nation's listed on the medal tally based on the standard method of ranking (being total gold medals, followed by total silver medals, and then total bronze medals). This table includes medals won both in long course swimming and in open water swimming. Year Date Edition Location Events (men/women/mixed) Winner of the medal table Second in the medal table Third in the medal table Long course Open water 1973 31 August – 9 September 1 Belgrade, Yugoslavia 15 / 14 / 0 0 / 0 / 0 1975 19–27 July 2 Cali, Colombia 15 / 14 / 0 0 / 0 / 0 1978 20–28 August 3 West Berlin, West Germany 15 / 14 / 0 0 / 0 / 0 1982 29 July – 8 August 4 Guayaquil, Ecuador 15 / 14 / 0 0 / 0 / 0 1986 13–23 August 5 Madrid, Spain 16 / 16 / 0 0 / 0 / 0 (3) 1991 3–13 January 6 Perth, Australia 16 / 16 / 0 1 / 1 / 0 1994 1–11 September 7 Rome, Italy 16 / 16 / 0 1 / 1 / 0 1998 8–17 January 8 Perth, Australia 16 / 16 / 0 2 / 2 / 2 2001 16–29 July 9 Fukuoka, Japan 20 / 20 / 0 3 / 3 / 0 2003 12–27 July 10 Barcelona, Spain 20 / 20 / 0 3 / 3 / 0 2005 16–31 July 11 Montreal, Canada 20 / 20 / 0 3 / 3 / 0 2007 18 March – 1 April 12 Melbourne, Australia 20 / 20 / 0 3 / 3 / 0 (2) 2009 17 July – 2 August 13 Rome, Italy 20 / 20 / 0 3 / 3 / 0 2011 16–31 July 14 Shanghai, China 20 / 20 / 0 3 / 3 / 1 2013 19 July – 4 August 15 Barcelona, Spain 20 / 20 / 0 3 / 3 / 1 2015 24 July – 9 August 16 Kazan, Russia 20 / 20 / 2 3 / 3 / 1 2017 14–30 July 17 Budapest, Hungary 20 / 20 / 2 3 / 3 / 1 2019 12–28 July 18 Gwangju, South Korea 20 / 20 / 2 3 / 3 / 1 (7) (2) 2022 18 June – 3 July 19 Budapest, Hungary 20 / 20 / 2 3 / 3 / 1 2023 14–30 July 20 Fukuoka, Japan 20 / 20 / 2 2 / 2 / 1 (3) 2024 2–18 February 21 Doha, Qatar 20 / 20 / 2 2 / 2 / 1 (15) (3) (5) 2025 11 July – 3 August 22 Singapore 20 / 20 / 2 3 / 3 / 1 (3) (6) (3) 2027 TBA 23 Budapest, HungaryTBATBA TBA TBA TBA 2029 TBA 24 Beijing, ChinaTBATBA TBA TBA TBA
Events The number of events competed for at each edition of the championships has grown steadily through the years. In 1973, 29 events were swum: 15 for men and 14 for women, all in the pool. Since 2015, the combined number of events for men and women including pool and open water events has been 49, a drastic increase compared to the first edition. Historically, 53 different events have been held across the 22 editions of the championships.
Long course Long course events have been competed since the inaugural edition of the championships in 1973. The youngest male swimmer to participate in the World Swimming Championships was Ahnt Khaung Htut from Myanmar, who was 12 years old in 2015. He took part at the 100m backstroke and 100m breaststroke events. The youngest female swimmer to participate in the World Swimming Championships was 10-year-old Alzain Tareq from Bahrain in 2015. She participated at the 50m butterfly and 50m freestyle events.
Men's events Edition1973197519781982198619911994199820012003200520072009201120132015201720192022202320242025Freestyle50 mXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX100 mXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX200 mXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX400 mXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX800 mXXXXXXXXXXXXXX1500 mXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXBackstroke50 mXXXXXXXXXXXXXX100 mXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX200 mXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXBreaststroke50 mXXXXXXXXXXXXXX100 mXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX200 mXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXButterfly50 mXXXXXXXXXXXXXX100 mXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX200 mXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXIndividualmedley200 mXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX400 mXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXRelays4×100 m freestyleXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX4×200 m freestyleXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX4×100 m medleyXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXNumber of events15151515161616162020202020202020202020202020
Women's events Edition1973197519781982198619911994199820012003200520072009201120132015201720192022202320242025Freestyle50 mXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX100 mXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX200 mXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX400 mXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX800 mXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX1500 mXXXXXXXXXXXXXXBackstroke50 mXXXXXXXXXXXXXX100 mXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX200 mXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXBreaststroke50 mXXXXXXXXXXXXXX100 mXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX200 mXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXButterfly50 mXXXXXXXXXXXXXX100 mXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX200 mXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXIndividualmedley200 mXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX400 mXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXRelays4×100 m freestyleXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX4×200 m freestyleXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX4×100 m medleyXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXNumber of events14141414161616162020202020202020202020202020
Mixed events Edition2015201720192022202320242025Relays4×100 m freestyleXXXXXXX4×100 m medleyXXXXXXXNumber of events2222222
Open water Open water events have been competed since the sixth edition of the championships in 1991.
Men's events Edition199119941998200120032005200720092011201320152017201920222023202420253 km knockout sprintsX5 kmXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX10 kmXXXXXXXXXXXXXX25 kmXXXXXXXXXXXXXXNumber of events11233333333333223
Women's events Edition199119941998200120032005200720092011201320152017201920222023202420253 km knockout sprintsX5 kmXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX10 kmXXXXXXXXXXXXXX25 kmXXXXXXXXXXXXXXNumber of events11233333333333223
Mixed events Edition1998200120032005200720092011201320152017201920222023202420255 km teamXXXXXX6 km teamXXXX25 km teamXNumber of events200000111111111
Medalists A select number of athletes have won medals at both long course and open water events, including Oussama Mellouli from Tunisia, Hayley Lewis from Australia, Gregorio Paltrinieri from Italy, Florian Wellbrock from Germany, and Sharon van Rouwendaal from the Netherlands. For a full list of medalists covering all editions of the championships see List of World Aquatics Championships medalists in swimming (men) and List of World Aquatics Championships medalists in swimming (women). For a complete list of medal winners in open water swimming see List of World Aquatics Championships medalists in open water swimming.
All-time medal table Updated after the 2025 World Aquatics Championships.
Long course (1973–2025)
Open water (1991–2025)
Multiple medalists
Boldface denotes active swimmers and highest medal count among all swimmers (including these who not included in these tables) per type.
All events Rank Swimmer Country Gender From To Gold Silver BronzeTotal 1 Michael Phelps M 2001 2011 26 ** 6 1 33 ** 2 Katie Ledecky F 2013 2025 23 6 1 30 3 Ryan Lochte M 2005 2015 18 * 5 4 * 27 ** 4 Caeleb Dressel M 2017 2022 15 2 – 17 5 Sarah Sjöström F 2009 2024 14 8 3 25 6 Simone Manuel F 2013 2025 13 *** 5 * 2 20 **** 7 Lilly King F 2017 2025 12 ** 2 – 14 ** 8 Mollie O'Callaghan F 2022 2025 11 6 – 17 9 Missy Franklin F 2011 2015 11 2 3 16 Sun Yang M 2009 2019 11 2 3 16 * including one medal in the relay event in which this swimmer participated in the heats only ** including two medals in the relay events in which this swimmer participated in the heats only *** including three medals in the relay events in which this swimmer participated in the heats only **** including four medals in the relay events in which this swimmer participated in the heats only
Individual events Rank Swimmer Country Gender From To Gold Silver BronzeTotal 1 Katie Ledecky F 2013 2025 18 3 1 22 2 Michael Phelps M 2001 2011 15 5 – 20 3 Sarah Sjöström F 2009 2024 14 6 3 23 4 Sun Yang M 2009 2019 11 2 1 14 5 Ryan Lochte M 2005 2015 10 3 3 16 6 Katinka Hosszú F 2009 2019 9 1 5 15 7 Florian Wellbrock M 2019 2025 8 2 2 12 8 Summer McIntosh F 2022 2025 8 1 2 11 9 Caeleb Dressel M 2017 2022 8 – – 8 10 Grant Hackett M 1998 2007 7 6 1 14
World records The World Championships have often been the occasion at which elite swimmers reach the peak of their season, and hence numerous world records are often broken.
EditionMenWomenMixedTotal1973 7 10 Not held 171975 1 4 Not held 51978 4 10 Not held 141982 4 3 Not held 71986 – 6 Not held 61991 7 – Not held 71994 3 7 Not held 101998 – – Not held 02001 8 – Not held 82003 12 2 Not held 142005 5 4 Not held 92007 7 8 Not held 152009 17 26 Not held 432011 2 – Not held 22013 – 6 Not held 62015 2 6 3 112017 2 6 3 112019 5 4 1 102022 2 – 1 32023 2 7 1 102024 1 – – 12025 1 1 1 3
Championship Records
List of World Championships records in swimming
See also Major achievements in swimming by nation Swimming at the Summer Olympics
Note
References
External links FINA Official Championship Results History – Swimming (men) FINA Official Championship Results History – Swimming (women)