Caeleb Dressel won five gold medals at the Tokyo Olympics, a feat achieved by only three other U.S. swimmers. But how do his times compare against past Olympic champions?
Katie Ledecky added two more gold medals to her trophy case this summer, giving her 10 Olympic medals in her career. But did this year’s Ledecky swim faster than her younger selves? And how do some other swimmers, and runners, compare with their predecessors, or with their own times in past races?
Let’s take a look.
Men’s 100-Meter Butterfly
Caeleb Dressel vs. Previous Olympic Champions
Dressel won five gold medals in Tokyo and broke his own world record in the 100-meter butterfly, the event that Michael Phelps once dominated. Here’s how the last 10 Olympic champions compare in the event.
Women’s 800-Meter Freestyle
Katie Ledecky vs. Katie Ledecky
Ledecky was impressive in Tokyo, even if she didn’t win every individual swim, as she did in Rio. The one gold medal she did retain was in the 800 meters. She has dominated the event, winning the past three Olympic titles. We put her Tokyo swim in the pool against her best swims from each of the past 11 years, excluding 2020. What did we find? She has slowed down, even as she remains the fastest 800-meter swimmer in the world.
Women’s 200-Meter Freestyle
Ariarne Titmus vs. Previous Gold Medalists
Ariarne Titmus of Australia faced off against Ledecky in three individual events in her first Olympics, and won gold twice. See how her Olympic-record swim in the 200-meter freestyle compared with those of the previous nine gold medalists.
Men’s 100-Meter Breaststroke
Adam Peaty vs. Adam Peaty
When it comes to the 100-meter breaststroke, Adam Peaty is in a class of his own. He has held the world record since 2015, and his gold medal swim in Tokyo was only his fifth-fastest in the event. Here are his top swims from each of the past 11 years, displayed in the fastest 100-meter breaststroke race ever: Peaty vs. Peaty.
Men’s 4×100-Meter Medley Relay
United States vs. United States
The men’s 4×100-meter medley relay race has been dominated by the United States, which has won the event in the last 10 summer Games. And they keep getting faster.
Women’s 400-Meter Hurdles
McLaughlin and Muhammad’s
Record-Breaking Races
The world record in the women’s 400-meter hurdles had stood for 16 years before Dalilah Muhammad broke it in 2019 — and again three months later. Now Sydney McLaughlin has broken it twice in 2021, including this week, when she and Muhammad both surpassed the previous record. But only McLaughlin, who was 0.12 of a second faster, got the gold. Watch how McLaughlin and Muhammad ran in each of these four record-breaking races.
See all the races from Tokyo 2020
Miss any of the action in the pool or on the track? Select from the 44 races below to see visualizations of the fastest athletes in the pool and on the track in Tokyo.
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