The GOAT debate
The panel vote
In 2021, for its 90th anniversary, FIMP asked a panel of 41 former champions, coaches and journalists to name the greatest athlete in the sport's history. Each panellist had one first-place vote.
| Rank | Athlete | First-place votes | The case |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kaori Ishizuchi JPN | 22 | Six consecutive Indoor titles and a medal in every final she swam. The panel's clear choice. |
| 2 | Lars-Erik Hovland NOR | 9 | The only athlete to win both titles, and the most finals in history. Supporters say no one else ever did what he did. |
| 3 | Hendrika “Hennie” Valkhof NED | 6 | Four straight titles, the unbeaten 1937 final and the highest Elo ever recorded, with her prime cut short by the war. |
| 4 | Ngaio Te Rangimarie NZL | 4 | Five straight Outdoor titles and a medal in every final. The greatest Outdoor athlete. |
| 5 | Lieselotte Achterberg GER | — | Four straight Indoor titles, ended only by Hovland. |
| 6 | Callum Reidford GBR | — | Three Indoor titles; Britain's only world champion for half a century. |
| 7 | Wendell Okafor-Brigham USA | — | Three straight titles and the sport's first great American. |
| 8 | Femi Adebayo-Lindqvist SWE | — | Three Outdoor titles in the Hawk-Ear era. |
| 9 | Ottavio Marzanello ITA | — | Three titles, including the re-swum final at Helsinki. |
| 10 | Tomasz Wierzbowski POL | — | Three Indoor titles; the first great champion of the electronic era. |
The case for each
Kaori Ishizuchi: the dominance case
Six titles in a row, 11 finals, 11 medals. Her peak Elo of 1952 is second only to Valkhof. The one argument against her is Osaka 1994, a title won on review rather than in the water.
Lars-Erik Hovland: the versatility case
The only athlete to win both titles, and the only athlete since 1968 to reach finals in both. He made 18 finals, the most in history, and won 17 medals. The argument against: only two titles, and a record 14 silvers.
Hendrika Valkhof: the peak case
The highest Elo ever recorded (1976), four straight titles and the unbeaten 1937 final. The war took her best years, so the case for her rests on what she might have won.
Ngaio Te Rangimarie: the Outdoor case
Five straight Outdoor titles, a medal in all 11 of her finals and the highest Elo of any Outdoor athlete (1946). Outdoor fans say the panel underrated her.
The numbers
Calculated from the FIMP Archive. Medal rate is medals per final. Streak is the longest run of consecutive titles in one discipline.
| Athlete | Discipline | Titles | Finals | Medals | Medal rate | Best streak | Peak Elo |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kaori Ishizuchi JPN | Indoor | 6 | 11 | 11 | 100% | 6 | 1952 |
| Ngaio Te Rangimarie NZL | Outdoor | 5 | 11 | 11 | 100% | 5 | 1946 |
| Lieselotte Achterberg GER | Indoor | 4 | 10 | 9 | 90% | 4 | 1927 |
| Hendrika “Hennie” Valkhof NED | Unified | 4 | 6 | 6 | 100% | 4 | 1976 |
| Femi Adebayo-Lindqvist SWE | Outdoor | 3 | 12 | 12 | 100% | 2 | 1932 |
| Tomasz Wierzbowski POL | Indoor | 3 | 12 | 11 | 92% | 2 | 1928 |
| Callum Reidford GBR | Indoor | 3 | 10 | 8 | 80% | 2 | 1941 |
| Wendell Okafor-Brigham USA | Unified | 3 | 7 | 6 | 86% | 3 | 1896 |
| Ottavio Marzanello ITA | Unified | 3 | 7 | 7 | 100% | 3 | 1910 |
| Lars-Erik Hovland NOR | Indoor & Outdoor | 2 | 18 | 17 | 94% | 1 | 1911 |
| Aaron Warburton GBR | Indoor | 1 | 4 | 2 | 50% | 1 | 1767 |
| Jonathon Couriard GBR | Outdoor | 1 | 4 | 2 | 50% | 1 | 1741 |
What about the current champions?
Aaron Warburton and Jonathon Couriard have one title each and are both world #1 in their discipline. Neither is in the GOAT conversation yet, but two more titles would put either of them level with Reidford, Marzanello and Okafor-Brigham.