Swimming records are measured in pools of a fixed length with touchpads that register each finish. Because the sport is so dependent on equipment and technique, its record book shows clear technological and rule-driven turning points, the most dramatic being the 2008 and 2009 bodysuit era.
Here you will find the fastest times in the 100 m freestyle and the Olympic swimmers with the most medals, with notes on course length, event programmes and how relay medals are counted.
Pan Zhanle's 46.40-second swim at the 2024 Paris Olympics finally broke a 15-year-old record set in now-banned 'supersuit' technology.
Michael Phelps tops the list of most decorated Olympic swimmers by an enormous margin, with Katie Ledecky building the best total among active swimmers.
In 2008 and 2009 swimming world records fell by the dozen. This guide explains the suits behind it, the 2010 ban and why those years still shadow the record book.
Why the same athlete can be described as the most decorated or the most successful depending on how medals are counted, and how events and programmes have grown.