Olympic Swimming Progressions: A Modern Overview

Introduction

The Olympic Swimming Progressions chart offers a detailed look at how swimming performance standards have evolved from the Sydney 2000 Olympics through to Paris 2024. By tracking the times required to reach each competitive milestone—semi-finals, finals, medalist positions, and gold medals.

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Key Trends and Insights

1. Steady Improvement in Performance

Across virtually all events and distances, both men’s and women’s qualifying and medal-winning times have improved over the past two decades. For example:

• Men’s 100m Freestyle: The gold medal time dropped from 48.30 seconds (Sydney 2000) to 46.40 seconds (Paris 2024).

• Women’s 100m Freestyle: The champion’s time improved from 53.83 seconds (Sydney 2000) to 51.96 seconds (Tokyo 2020).

2. Narrowing Margins Between Medalists

The time differences between gold, silver, and bronze medalists have become smaller. In many events, the gap between first and third place has shrunk.

3. Rising Entry Standards

It now takes faster times than ever before just to reach the semi-finals or finals. For instance:

• Men’s 50m Freestyle (Semi-finalist time):

  • Sydney 2000: 22.89 seconds

  • Paris 2024: 22.01 seconds

• Women’s 200m Freestyle (Finalist time):

  • Sydney 2000: 1:59.55

  • Paris 2024: 1:56.60

4. Progress Across All Strokes and Distances

Improvements are not limited to freestyle. Backstroke, breaststroke, butterfly, and individual medley events all show consistent reductions in times for both men and women.

5. Relay Events Reflect Similar Trends

Relay teams have also become faster and more competitive, with world-leading times now required to reach the podium. For example:

• Men’s 4x100m Medley Relay (Champion):

  • Sydney 2000: 3:33.73

  • Tokyo 2020: 3:26.78

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Conclusion

The Olympic Swimming Progressions chart is more than a record of past results—it’s a shows the sport’s ongoing evolution. .

       

	Men's 50m Freestyle					Women's 50m Freestyle
Semi Finalist	Finalist	Medalist	Champion			Champion	Medalist	Finalist	Semi Finalist
22.01	21.61	21.56	21.25	Paris 2024		23.71	24.20	24.39	24.98
22.25	21.79	21.57	21.07	Tokyo 2020*		23.81	24.21	24.41	24.98
22.18	22.08	21.49	21.40	Rio 2016		24.07	24.11	24.69	25.31
22.30	21.98	21.59	21.34	London 2012		24.05	24.39	24.69	25.28
22.15	21.72	21.49	21.30	Beijing 2008		24.06	24.17	24.77	25.19
22.63	22.37	22.02	21.93	Athens 2004		24.58	24.91	25.20	25.83
22.89	22.41	22.03	21.98	Sydney 2000		24.32	24.63	25.65	25.95
	Men's 100m Freestyle					Women's 100m Freestyle
Semi Finalist	Finalist	Medalist	Champion			Champion	Medalist	Finalist	Semi Finalist
48.78	47.98	47.49	46.40	Paris 2024		52.16	52.33	53.04	54.29
48.53	48.10	47.44	47.02	Tokyo 2020*		51.96	52.52	53.23	54.86
48.70	48.41	47.85	47.58	Rio 2016		52.70	52.99	53.36	54.59
49.07	48.44	47.80	47.52	London 2012		53.00	53.38	54.02	54.59
49.58	48.33	47.67	47.21	Beijing 2008		53.12	53.39	54.29	55.36
49.88	49.30	48.56	48.17	Athens 2004		53.84	54.40	55.24	56.03
49.93	49.44	48.73	48.30	Sydney 2000		53.83	54.43	55.58	56.40
	Men's 200m Freestyle					Women's 200m Freestyle
Semi Finalist	Finalist	Medalist	Champion			Champ	Medalist	Finalist	Semi Finalist
1:47.93	1:46.26	1:44.79	1:44.72	Paris 2024		1:53.27	1:54.55	1:56.60	1:59.58
1:47.62	1:45.78	1:44.66	1:44.22	Tokyo 2020*		1:53.50	1:54.70	1:56.39	1:59.14
1:48.00	1:45.91	1:45.23	1:44.65	Rio 2016		1:53.73	1:54.92	1:56.29	1:57.82
1:48.26	1:47.75	1:44.93	1:43.14	London 2012		1:53.61	1:55.81	1:57.68	1:59.62
1:48.71	1:47.47	1:45.14	1:42.96	Beijing 2008		1:54.82	1:55.05	1:57.83	1:59.41
1:51.35	1:48.40	1:45.32	1:44.71	Athens 2004		1:58.03	1:58.45	1:59.20	2:01.06
1:50.56	1:49.46	1:46.65	1:45.35	Sydney 2000		1:58.24	1:58.81	1:59.55	2:03.34
	Men's 400m Freestyle					Women's 400m Freestyle
Semi Finalist	Finalist	Medalist	Champion			Champion	Medalist	Finalist	Semi Finalist
	3:47.00	3:42.50	3:41.78	Paris 2024		3:57.49	4:00.86	4:04.96
	3:45.39	3:43.94	3:43.36	Tokyo 2020*		3:56.69	4:01.08	4:08.01
	3:49.07	3:43.49	3:41.55	Rio 2016		3:56.46	4:01.92	4:06.98
	3:49.25	3:44.69	3:40.14	London 2012		4:01.45	4:03.01	4:06.25
	3:48.29	3:42.78	3:41.86	Beijing 2008		4:03.22	4:03.52	4:11.26
	3:48.96	3:44.11	3:43.10	Athens 2004		4:05.34	4:06.19	4:11.35
	3:48.52	3:47.00	3:40.59	Sydney 2000		4:05.80	4:07.83	4:13.11
	Men's 800m Freestyle					Women's 800m Freestyle
Semi Finalist	Finalist	Medalist	Champion			Champion	Medalist	Finalist	Semi Finalist
	7:48.36	7:39.38	7:38.19	Paris 2024		8:11.04	8:13.00	8:23.27
-	7:53.31	7:42.33	7:41.87	Tokyo 2020*		8:12.57	8:18.35	8:26.30
				Rio 2016		8:04.79	8:16.37	8:27.75
				London 2012		8:14.63	8:20.32	8:29.28
				Beijing 2008		8:14.10	8:23.03	8:32.35
				Athens 2004		8:24.54	8:26.61	8:37.02
				Sydney 2000		8:19.67	8:24.29	8:37.39
	Men's 1500m Freestyle					Women's 1500m Freestyle
Semi Finalist	Finalist	Medalist	Champion			Champion	Medalist	Finalist	Semi Finalist
	14:52.61	14:39.63	14:30.67	Paris 2024		15:30.02	15:41.16	16:12.57
-	15:04.26	14:40.91	14:39.65	Tokyo 2020*		15:37.34	15:42.91	16:05.81
	15:02.66	14:40.86	14:34.57	Rio 2016
	15:00.76	14:40.31	14:31.02	London 2012
	15:05.12	14:42.69	14:40.84	Beijing 2008
	15:13.66	14:45.95	14:43.40	Athens 2004
	15:19.87	14:56.59	14:48.33	Sydney 2000
	Men's 100m Backstroke					Women's 100m Backstroke
Semi Finalist	Finalist	Medalist	Champion			Champion	Medalist	Finalist	Semi Finalist
53.71	52.84	52.39	52.00	Paris 2024		57.33	57.98	59.80	1:00.80
53.80	52.95	52.19	51.98	Tokyo 2020*		57.47	58.05	59.53	1:00.49
54.40	53.50	52.40	51.97	Rio 2016		58.45	58.76	59.23	1:01.44
54.48	53.55	52.97	52.16	London 2012		58.33	58.83	1:00.50	1:00.57
54.93	53.99	53.18	52.54	Beijing 2008		58.96	59.34	1:00.18	1:01.45
56.15	55.27	54.36	54.06	Athens 2004		1:00.37	1:00.88	1:01.76	1:02.48
56.34	55.74	54.82	53.72	Sydney 2000		1:00.21	1:00.89	1:02.02	1:03.31
	Men's 200m Backstroke					Women's 200m Backstroke
Semi Finalist	Finalist	Medalist	Champion			Champion	Medalist	Finalist	Semi Finalist
1:58.65	1:55.97	1:54.85	1:54.26	Paris 2024		2:03.73	2:05.57	2:10.23	2:11.96
1:59.36	1:59.06	1:54.72	1:53.27	Tokyo 2020*		2:04.68	2:06.17	2:08.48	2:12.98
1:59.08	1:56.36	1:53.97	1:53.62	Rio 2016		2:05.99	2:07.54	2:09.44	2:10.15
1:58.99	1:58.02	1:53.94	1:53.41	London 2012		2:04.06	2:06.55	2:09.86	2:11.42
1:59.87	1:57.00	1:54.93	1:53.94	Beijing 2008		2:05.24	2:07.13	2:10.12	2:12.46
2:00.83	2:00.06	1:57.56	1:54.95	Athens 2004		2:09.19	2:09.88	2:12.90	2:15.69
2:03.80	1:59.38	1:57.59	1:56.76	Sydney 2000		2:08.16	2:11.05	2:14.57	2:15.11
	Men's 100m Breaststroke					Women's 100m Breaststroke
Semi Finalist	Finalist	Medalist	Champion			Champion	Medalist	Finalist	Semi Finalist
1:00.37	59.98	59.05	59.03	Paris 2024		1:05.28	1:05.59	1:06.54	1:07.48
59.93	59.36	58.33	57.37	Tokyo 2020*		1:04.95	1:05.54	1:06.94	1:07.58
1:00.81	59.95	58.87	57.13	Rio 2016		1:04.93	1:05.69	1:08.10	1:07.55
1:00.16	1:00.84	59.49	58.46	London 2012		1:05.47	1:06.46	1:07.55	1:08.26
1:00.92	1:00.24	59.37	58.91	Beijing 2008		1:05.17	1:07.34	1:08.43	1:09.56
1:02.36	1:02.42	1:00.88	1:00.08	Athens 2004		1:06.64	1:07.16	1:08.19	1:10.84
1:02.89	1:01.88	1:00.91	1:00.46	Sydney 2000		1:07.05	1:07.55	1:09.86	1:10.66
	Men's 200m Breaststroke					Women's 200m Breaststroke
Semi Finalist	Finalist	Medalist	Champion			Champion	Medalist	Finalist	Semi Finalist
2:11.28	2:11.44	2:07.90	2:05.85	Paris 2024		2:19.24	2:21.05	2:25.91	2:26.22
2:10.69	2:08.88	2:07.13	2:06.38	Tokyo 2020*		2:18.95	2:20.84	2:24.57	2:27.56
2:12.99	2:08.34	2:07.70	2:07.46	Rio 2016		2:20.30	2:22.28	2:23.74	2:26.80
2:11.71	2:09.44	2:08.29	2:07.28	London 2012		2:19.59	2:20.92	2:26.00	2:28.74
2:12.07	2:11.48	2:08.94	2:07.64	Beijing 2008		2:20.22	2:22.05	2:25.23	2:29.64
2:15.91	2:11.95	2:10.87	2:09.44	Athens 2004		2:23.37	2:25.82	2:26.39	2:31.77
2:16.90	2:14.00	2:12.73	2:10.87	Sydney 2000		2:24.35	2:25.35	2:27.33	2:31.71
	Men's 100m Butterfly					Women's 100m Butterfly
Semi Finalist	Finalist	Medalist	Champion			Champion	Medalist	Finalist	Semi Finalist
52.22	51.11	50.45	49.90	Paris 2024		55.59	56.21	57.34	58.11
52.27	51.49	50.74	49.45	Tokyo 2020*		55.59	55.72	57.05	58.10
52.50	51.84	51.14	50.39	Rio 2016		55.48	56.63	57.17	58.65
52.71	52.05	51.44	51.21	London 2012		55.98	56.94	57.76	59.22
52.94	51.86	51.12	50.58	Beijing 2008		56.73	57.25	58.54	59.29
53.12	52.56	51.36	51.25	Athens 2004		57.72	57.99	59.83	59.79
53.81	53.13	52.22	52.00	Sydney 2000		56.61	58.43	59.43	1:00.40
	Men's 200m Butterfly					Women's 200m Butterfly
Semi Finalist	Finalist	Medalist	Champion			Champion	Medalist	Finalist	Semi Finalist
1:56.26	1:54.85	1:52.80	1:51.21	Paris 2024		2:03.03	2:05.09	2:08.82	2:10.60
1:56.67	1:55.88	1:54.45	1:51.25	Tokyo 2020*		2:03.86	2:05.30	2:09.48	2:16.38
1:57.62	1:57.04	1:53.62	1:53.36	Rio 2016		2:04.85	2:05.20	2:07.87	2:09.95
1:58.56	1:55.18	1:53.21	1:52.96	London 2012		2:04.06	2:05.48	2:07.77	2:13.09
1:57.48	1:55.14	1:52.97	1:52.03	Beijing 2008		2:04.18	2:06.26	2:08.23	2:11.74
1:59.78	1:57.48	1:55.52	1:54.04	Athens 2004		2:06.05	2:08.04	2:10.58	2:13.41
1:59.03	1:58.39	1:56.17	1:55.35	Sydney 2000		2:05.88	2:07.12	2:10.72	2:11.83
	Men's 200m Individual Medley					Women's 200m Individual Medley
Semi Finalist	Finalist	Medalist	Champion			Champion	Medalist	Finalist	Semi Finalist
2:01.02	1:57.26	1:56.00	1:54.06	Paris 2024		2:06.56	2:08.08	2:09.74	2:12.80
2:00.21	1:57.70	1:56.17	1:55.00	Tokyo 2020*		2:08.52	2:09.04	2:12.86	2:12.85
2:00.81	1:58.54	1:57.05	1:54.66	Rio 2016		2:06.58	2:08.79	2:13.56	2:13.33
2:01.58	1:59.10	1:56.22	1:54.27	London 2012		2:07.57	2:08.95	2:14.19	2:15.12
2:00.98	2:00.76	1:56.53	1:54.23	Beijing 2008		2:08.45	2:10.34	2:13.36	2:14.14
2:03.85	2:02.16	1:58.80	1:57.14	Athens 2004		2:11.14	2:12.72	2:15.40	2:17.41
2:03.90	2:02.49	2:00.87	1:58.98	Sydney 2000		2:10.68	2:13.32	2:15.64	2:18.08
	Men's 400m Individual Medley					Women's 400m Individual Medley
Semi Finalist	Finalist	Medalist	Champion			Champion	Medalist	Finalist	Semi Finalist
	4:17.16	4:08.66	4:02.95	Paris 2024		4:27.71	4:34.93	4:40.70
	4:11.32	4:10.38	4:09.42	Tokyo 2020*		4:32.08	4:34.90	4:40.65
	4:16.58	4:09.71	4:06.05	Rio 2016		4:26.36	4:32.39	0:38.06
	4:14.89	4:08.94	4:05.18	London 2012		4:28.43	4:32.91	4:35.62
	4:15.40	4:08.09	4:03.84	Beijing 2008		4:29.45	4:31.71	4:42.13
	4:20.08	4:12.15	4:08.26	Athens 2004		4:34.83	4:37.51	4:50.85
	4:20.93	4:15.33	4:11.76	Sydney 2000		4:33.59	4:37.18	4:45.99
	Men's 4 x 100m Medley Relay					Women's 4 x 100m Medley Relay
Semi Finalist	Finalist	Medalist	Champion			Champion	Medalist	Finalist	Semi Finalist
	3:32.52	3:28.38	3:27.46	Paris 2024		3:49.63	3:53.63	3:59.52
	3:32.42	3:29.17	3:26.78	Tokyo 2020*		3:51.60	3:52.50	3:58.12
	3:33.50	3:29.93	3:27.95	Rio 2016		3:53.13	3:55.01	3:59.50
	3:34.19	3:31.58	3:29.35	London 2012		3:52.05	3:55.73	3:59.46
	3:33.70	3:31.18	3:29.34	Beijing 2008		3:52.69	3:56.11	4:01.35
	3:37.77	3:35.22	3:30.68	Athens 2004		3:57.32	3:59.12	4:07.61
	3:40.19	3:35.88	3:33.73	Sydney 2000		3:58.30	4:04.16	4:07.83
	Men's 4 x 100m Freestyle Relay					Women's 4 x 100m Freestyle Relay
Semi Finalist	Finalist	Medalist	Champion			Champion	Medalist	Finalist	Semi Finalist
	3:13.11	3:10.70	3:09.28	Paris 2024		3:28.92	3:30.30	3:36.51
	3:13.41	3:10.22	3:08.97	Tokyo 2020*		3:29.69	3:32.81	3:35.70
	3:14.48	3:11.37	3:09.92	Rio 2016		3:30.65	3:32.89	3:37.78
	3:14.40	3:11.41	3:09.93	London 2012		3:33.15	3:34.24	3:37.96
	3:12.97	3:09.91	3:08.24	Beijing 2008		3:33.76	3:35.05	3:38.32
	3:17.18	3:14.62	3:13.17	Athens 2004		3:35.94	3:37.59	3:42.90
	3:21.00	3:17.40	3:13.67	Sydney 2000		3:36.61	3:40.30	3:44.49
	Men's 4 x 200m Freestyle Relay					Women's 4 x 200m Freestyle Relay
Semi Finalist	Finalist	Medalist	Champion			Champion	Medalist	Finalist	Semi Finalist
	7:10.22	7:01.98	6:59.43	Paris 2024		7:38.08	7:42.34	7:55.89
	7:08.22	7:01.84	6:58.58	Tokyo 2020*		7:40.33	7:41.29	7:58.15
	7:11.64	7:03.50	7:00.66	Rio 2016		7:43.03	7:45.39	7:56.76
	7:13.66	7:06.30	6:59.70	London 2012		7:42.92	7:47.49	7:56.73
	7:13.02	7:04.98	6:58.56	Beijing 2008		7:44.31	7:46.33	7:59.83
	7:23.02	7:11.83	7:07.33	Athens 2004		7:53.42	7:57.35	8:08.34
	7:24.37	7:12.70	7:07.05	Sydney 2000		7:57.80	7:58.64	8:05.99
	Mixed 4 x 100m Medley Relay
Semi Finalist	Finalist	Medalist	Champion
	3:32.52	3:28.38	3:27.46	Paris 2024
	3:44.77	3:38.95	3:37.58	Tokyo 2020*	(*2021)

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Note: Update Tracking Olympic Swimmers Progress June 2025