World’s Fastest 800m Freestyle – Men’s Long Course
World Record: Zhang Lin 7:32.12
Olympic Record: Daniel Wiffen 7:38.19 (NEW)
World Junior Record: Zhang Lin 7:32.12
Commonwealth Record: Samuel Short 7:37.76
Top 10 All-time Performers:
- Zhang Lin (26.94, 28.26, 28.84, 28.51, 28.61, 28.71, 28.71, 28.21, 28.23, 28.26, 28.51, 28.57, 28.90, 28.77, 28.10, 25.99) 7:32.12
- Ous Mellouli (26.62, 28.49, 28.65, 28.60, 28.82, 29.21, 28.84, 28.72, 28.42, 28.29, 28.29, 28.24, 28.44, 28.67, 28.29, 28.68) 7.35.27
- Ahmed Hafnaoui (26.58, 27.96, 28.51, 28.62, 28.76, 28.82, 28.96, 28.99, 29.00, 29.00, 29.33, 29.24, 29.27, 29.12, 28.60, 26.24) 7:37.00
- Samuel Short (26.18, 28.13, 28.33, 28.73, 28.76, 29.04, 28.94, 29.01, 29.00, 29.09, 29.22, 29.21, 29.26, 29.17, 28.53, 27.16) 7:37.76
- Daniel Wiffen (26.34, 28.42, 28.80, 29.06, 28.94, 29.00, 29.11, 29.15, 28.90, 28.82, 29.08, 29.09, 29.26, 28.89, 28.39, 26.94) 7:38.19
- Sun Yang (26.81, 29.09, 29.21, 29.34, 29.36, 29.27, 29.15, 29.13, 28.98, 29.09, 28.88, 28.93, 28.42, 28.43, 27.61, 26.87) 7:38.57
- Grant Hackett (25.99, 28.39, 28.75, 28.76, 28.71, 28.89, 28.83, 28.85, 28.89, 28.97, 29.18, 29.34, 29.23, 29.33, 28.33, 28.21) 7:38.65
- Bobby Finke (26.63, 28.56, 28.84, 28.80, 29.07, 28.84, 29.94, 29.08, 29.02, 28.89, 29.18, 28.87, 29.23, 28.98, 28.95, 26.79) 7:38.67
- Ian Thorpe (26.41, 28.61, 29.08, 28.83, 30.01, 28.71, 29.49, 29.40, 29.61, 29.28, 29.40, 29.83, 28.66, 28.61, 27.30, 25.93) 7:39.16
- Gregorio Paltrinieri (26.69, 28.93, 28.82, 28.92, 28.77, 29.11, 28.87, 28.81, 28.78, 28.72, 28.60, 28.67, 28.76, 28.92, 29.37, 28.53) 7:39.27
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The chart below compares the World’s fastest 800m Freestyle swimmers. Swimmers and coaches can looks at the individual Splits, Stroke Counts and the first 50m split compared to swimmers 50m PB. All swim data has been collected from our team reviewing race footage where possible.
| Men's 800m Freestyle - Long Course | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Zhang Lin | Ous Mellouli | Ahmed Hafnaoui | Samuel Short | Daniel Wiffen | Sun Yang | Grant Hackett | Bobby Finke | Ian Thorpe | Gregorio Paltrinieri | |
| Height: | 6 ft 2 in 188cm | 6 ft 4 in 192cm | 6 ft 4 in 195cm | 6ft 4in 194cm | 6 ft 7 in 200cm | 6 ft 6 in 197cm | 6 ft 1 in 185cm | 6 ft 5 in 196cm | 6 ft 3 in 191cm | |
| Weight: | 170Ib 77kg | 185Ib 84kg | 185lb 84kg | 176lb 80kg | 196Ib 89kg | 212Ib 96kg | 172lb 78kg | 229Ib 104kg | 159Ib 72kg | |
| Country: | CHN | TUN | TUN | AUS | IRE | CHN | AUS | USA | AUS | ITA |
| DOB: | 1987-01-06 | 1984-02-19 | 2002-12-04 | 2003-09-17 | 2001-07-14 | 1991-12-01 | 1980-05-09 | 1999-11-06 | 1982-10-13 | 1994-09-05 |
| Meet: | 13th FINA World Championships 2009 | 13th FINA World Championships 2009 | World Aquatics Championships - Fukuoka 2023 | World Aquatics Championships - Fukuoka 2023 | Olympic Games Paris 2024 | 14th FINA World Championships 2011 | 11th FINA World Championships 2005 | World Aquatics Championships - Fukuoka 2023 | 9th FINA World Championships 2001 | 18th FINA World Championships 2019 |
| 1st 50m Split | 26.94 | 26.62 | 26.58 | 26.18 | 26.34 | 26.81 | 25.99 | 26.63 | 26.69 | |
| Strokes | 28 | 31 | 26 | 29 | 28 | 35 | ||||
| Split Time: | 26.94 | 26.62 | 26.58 | 26.18 | 26.34 | 26.81 | 25.99 | 26.63 | 26.69 | |
| 50m PB: | 25.20 | 23.03 | 24.68 | 24.99 | 23.57 | 26.68 | ||||
| Time off 50m PB: | 1.74 | 3.59 | 2.13 | 1.00 | 0.01 | |||||
| Percentage of 50m PB: | 106.905% | 115.588% | 108.630% | 104.002% | 100.037% | |||||
| 2nd 50m Split | 28.26 | 28.49 | 27.96 | 28.13 | 28.42 | 29.09 | 28.39 | 28.56 | 28.93 | |
| Strokes | 31 | 35 | 28 | 31 | 28 | 38 | ||||
| Split Time: | 55.20 | 55.11 | 54.54 | 54.31 | 54.76 | 55.90 | 54.38 | 55.19 | 55.02 | 55.62 |
| 3rd 50m Split | 28.84 | 28.65 | 28.51 | 28.33 | 28.80 | 29.21 | 28.75 | 28.84 | 28.82 | |
| Strokes | 31 | 34 | 27 | 31 | 28 | 38 | ||||
| Split Time: | 1:24.04 | 1:23.76 | 1:23.05 | 1:22.64 | 1:23.56 | 1:25.11 | 1:23.12 | 1:24.03 | 1:24.44 | |
| 4th 50m Split | 28.51 | 28.60 | 28.62 | 28.73 | 29.06 | 29.34 | 28.76 | 28.80 | 28.92 | |
| Strokes | 32 | 34 | 28 | 31 | 28 | |||||
| Split Time: | 1:52.55 | 1:52.36 | 1:51.67 | 1:51.37 | 1:52.62 | 1:54.45 | 1:51.89 | 1:52.83 | 1:52.93 | 1:53.36 |
| 5th 50m Split | 28.61 | 28.82 | 28.76 | 28.76 | 28.94 | 29.36 | 28.71 | 29.07 | 28.77 | |
| Strokes | 31 | 34 | 27 | 32 | 29 | 39 | ||||
| Split Time: | 2:21.16 | 2:21.18 | 2:20.43 | 2:20.13 | 2:21.56 | 2:23.81 | 2:20.60 | 2:21.90 | 2:22.13 | |
| 6th 50m Split | 28.71 | 29.21 | 28.82 | 29.04 | 29.00 | 29.27 | 28.89 | 28.84 | 29.11 | |
| Strokes | 33 | 32 | 34 | 28 | 32 | 29 | 39 | |||
| Split Time: | 2:49.87 | 2:50.39 | 2:49.25 | 2:49.17 | 2:50.56 | 2:53.08 | 2:49.49 | 2:50.74 | 2:51.65 | 2:51.24 |
| 7th 50m Split | 28.71 | 28.84 | 28.96 | 28.94 | 29.11 | 29.15 | 28.83 | 28.94 | 28.87 | |
| Strokes | 33 | 31 | 34 | 28 | 32 | 29 | 39 | |||
| Split Time: | 3:18.58 | 3:19.23 | 3:18.21 | 3:18.11 | 3:19.67 | 3:22.23 | 3:18.32 | 3:19.68 | 3:20.11 | |
| 8th 50m Split | 28.21 | 28.72 | 28.99 | 29.01 | 29.15 | 29.13 | 28.85 | 29.08 | 28.81 | |
| Strokes | 30 | 34 | 28 | 32 | 28 | 39 | ||||
| Split Time: | 3:46.79 | 3:47.95 | 3:47.20 | 3:47.12 | 3:48.82 | 3:51.36 | 3:47.17 | 3:48.76 | 3:50.54 | 3:48.92 |
| 9th 50m Split | 28.23 | 28.42 | 29.00 | 29.00 | 28.90 | 28.98 | 28.89 | 29.02 | 28.78 | |
| Strokes | 34 | 28 | 32 | 28 | 39 | |||||
| Split Time: | 4:15.02 | 4:16.37 | 4:16.20 | 4:16.12 | 4:17.72 | 4:20.34 | 4:16.06 | 4:17.78 | 4:17.70 | |
| 10th 50m Split | 28.26 | 28.29 | 29.00 | 29.09 | 28.82 | 29.09 | 28.97 | 28.89 | 28.72 | |
| Strokes | 34 | 33 | 28 | 32 | 29 | 39 | ||||
| Split Time: | 4:43.28 | 4:44.66 | 4:45.20 | 4:45.21 | 4:46.54 | 4:29.43 | 4:45.03 | 4:46.67 | 4:49.43 | 4:46.42 |
| 11th 50m Split | 28.51 | 28.29 | 29.33 | 29.22 | 29.08 | 28.88 | 29.18 | 29.18 | 28.60 | |
| Strokes | 34 | 34 | 28 | 33 | 29 | 39 | ||||
| Split Time: | 5:11.79 | 5:12.95 | 5:14.53 | 5:14.43 | 5:15.62 | 5:18.31 | 5:14.21 | 5:15.85 | 5:15.02 | |
| 12th 50m Split | 28.57 | 28.24 | 29.24 | 29.21 | 29.09 | 28.93 | 29.34 | 28.87 | 28.67 | |
| Strokes | 35 | 33 | 34 | 28 | 33 | 29 | 39 | |||
| Split Time: | 5:40.36 | 5:41.19 | 5:43.77 | 5:43.64 | 5:44.71 | 5:47.24 | 5:43.55 | 5:44.72 | 5:48.66 | 5:43.69 |
| 13th 50m Split | 28.90 | 28.44 | 29.27 | 29.26 | 29.26 | 28.42 | 29.23 | 29.23 | 28.76 | |
| Strokes | 35 | 33 | 28 | 33 | 30 | 39 | ||||
| Split Time: | 6:09.26 | 6:09.63 | 6:42.16 | 6:12.90 | 6:13.97 | 6:15.66 | 6:12.78 | 6:13.95 | 6:12.45 | |
| 14th 50m Split | 28.77 | 28.67 | 29.12 | 29.17 | 28.89 | 28.43 | 29.33 | 28.98 | 28.92 | |
| Strokes | 34 | 35 | 29 | 33 | 29 | 39 | ||||
| Split Time: | 6:38.03 | 6:38.30 | 6:42.16 | 6:42.07 | 6:42.86 | 6:44.09 | 6:42.11 | 6:42.93 | 6:45.93 | 6:41.37 |
| 15th 50m Split | 28.10 | 28.29 | 28.60 | 28.53 | 28.39 | 27.61 | 28.33 | 28.95 | 29.37 | |
| Strokes | 34 | 34 | 31 | 31 | 40 | |||||
| Split Time: | 7:06.13 | 7:06.59 | 7:10.76 | 7:10.60 | 7:11.25 | 7:11.70 | 7:10.44 | 7:11.88 | 7:10.74 | |
| 16th 50m Split | 25.99 | 28.68 | 26.24 | 27.16 | 26.94 | 26.87 | 28.21 | 26.79 | 28.53 | |
| Strokes | 35 | 42 | 35 | 35 | 31 | 40 | ||||
| Total Time: | 7:32.12 | 7:35.27 | 7:37.00 | 7:37.76 | 7:38.19 | 7:38.57 | 7:38.65 | 7:38.67 | 7:39.16 | 7:39.27 |
Here is Zhang Lin’s 800m Freestyle World Record swim to view.
Ian Thorpe and Sun Yang also make the list for Men’s 200m Freestyle Long Course as well as the Men’s 400m Freestyle Long Course.
Swimmers that progressed from the Men’s 400m Freestyle list to the 800m are Ian Thorpe, Sun Yang, Ous Mellouli and Zhang Lin.
Swimmers that progress from the top 800m Freestyler’s to the Men’s 1500m Freestyle Long Course are Sun Yang, Gregorio Paltrinieri, and Grant Hackett.
- Zhang Lin (7:32.12):
- Zhang Lin’s performance is marked by remarkable consistency in his split times, ranging from 25.99 to 28.90 seconds. This reveals his ability to maintain a precise pace throughout the race, a crucial attribute in the 800m Freestyle. His final time of 7:32.12 showcases not only his endurance but also his tactical precision.
- Ous Mellouli (7:35.27):
- Mellouli’s race begins with a strong opening split of 26.62 seconds. Although he faces slight variations in the middle stages, his strong finish with consistent splits between 28.24 and 29.21 demonstrates his ability to adapt and maintain competitiveness. His final time of 7:35.27 reflects his well-rounded approach.
- Ahmed Hafnaoui (7:37.00):
- Hafnaoui’s splits display a progressively faster pace, culminating in an impressive final 50 meters in 26.24 seconds. This ability to accelerate at the end showcases his sprinting capacity, a valuable asset in longer-distance races. His overall time of 7:37.00 highlights his potential for future success.
- Samuel Short (7:37.76):
- Short maintains a consistent pace throughout the race, with his splits ranging from 26.18 to 29.26 seconds. His competitive spirit shines through in the final 50 meters, where he clocks an impressive 27.16 seconds. His overall time of 7:37.76 underscores his reliability as a contender in this event.
- Daniel Wiffen (7:38.19):
- Wiffen’s splits showcase a consistent and measured approach, with a competitive final 50 meters in 26.94 seconds. His overall time of 7:38.19 reflects his ability to maintain a steady rhythm throughout the race.
- Sun Yang (7:38.57):
- Sun Yang’s balanced splits reveal his ability to swim efficiently across the entire distance. His final 50 meters in 26.87 seconds demonstrates his closing speed. While not the fastest, his overall time of 7:38.57 signifies his consistent presence at the elite level.
- Grant Hackett (7:38.65):
- Hackett’s splits, while generally consistent, show a slight acceleration in the latter stages. His experience and endurance are evident in his performance, resulting in a time of 7:38.65. His ability to adapt his pace throughout the race has been a hallmark of his career.
- Bobby Finke (7:38.67):
- Finke impresses with a remarkably steady pace in his splits. His final 50 meters in 26.79 seconds demonstrates his capacity to finish strong. His overall time of 7:38.67 reflects his dedication to maintaining consistency over the long distance.
- Ian Thorpe (7:39.16):
- Thorpe’s splits reveal a strong start but a challenging mid-section. His impressive final 50 meters in 25.93 seconds illustrates his incredible closing speed. His overall time of 7:39.16 underscores his enduring legacy as a versatile swimmer.
- Gregorio Paltrinieri (7:39.27):
- Paltrinieri’s splits exhibit a steady progression, with a strong final leg in 28.53 seconds. His overall time of 7:39.27 highlights his ability to navigate the challenging distance effectively.
In conclusion, these athletes employ various pacing strategies and demonstrate remarkable consistency in their splits. Their performances not only reflect their physical prowess but also their mental resilience, making the 800m Freestyle an enthralling and demanding event in the realm of swimming.
Note: World’s Fastest 800m Freestyle – Men’s Long Course Update July 2024