World record progression 100 metres freestyle

The first world record in the men's 100 metres freestyle in long course (50 metres) swimming was recognised by the International Swimming Federation (FINA) in 1905.^[1] In the short course (25 metres) swimming events the world's governing body recognizes world records since 3 March 1991.

Times have consistently dropped over the years due to better training techniques and to new developments in the sport.

In the first four Olympics competitions were not held in pools, but rather in open water (1896– The Mediterranean Sea, 1900– The Seine River, 1904– an artificial lake, 1906– The Mediterranean Sea). The 1904 Olympics freestyle race was the only one ever measured at 100 yards, instead of the usual 100 metres. A 100 metre pool was built for the 1908 Olympics and sat in the centre of the main stadium's track and field oval. The 1912 Olympics, held in the Stockholm harbour, marked the beginning of electronic timing.

Male swimmers wore full body suits up until the 1940s, which caused more drag in the water than their modern swim-wear counterparts. Also, over the years, pool designs have lessened the drag. Some design considerations allow for the reduction of swimming resistance making the pool faster. Namely, proper pool depth, elimination of currents, increased lane width, energy absorbing racing lane lines and gutters, and the use of other innovative hydraulic, acoustic and illumination designs.

In 2008, leading up to the Olympics, Speedo introduced a 50% Polyurethane suit dubbed LZR. Pure polyurethane suits from Arena (X-Glide), Adidas (Hydrofoil) and Italian suit manufacturer, Jaked were thought to be largely responsible for the multiple World Records in 2009 including at the 2009 World Aquatics Championships (dubbed the "Plastic Games"). FINA announced a ban on non-textile suit that took effect on January 2010.^[2]

The 1924 Summer Olympics were the first to use the standard 50 metre pool with marked lanes. In the freestyle, swimmers originally dived from the pool walls, but diving blocks were eventually incorporated at the 1936 Summer Olympics. The tumble turn ("flip-turn") was developed by the 1950s.

Graphic data for World Record Progression in Men and Women Swimming 50m-100m-200m Long and Short Course Butterfly-Backstroke-Breaststroke-Freestyle

Men

Long course

#	Time		Name	Nationality	Date	Meet	Location	Ref
1	1:05.8		Halmay, ZoltánZoltán Halmay	Hungary	3 Dec 1905	–	Vienna, Austria
2	1:05.6		Daniels, CharlesCharles Daniels	United States	20 Jul 1908	Olympic Games	London, United Kingdom	[3]
3	1:02.8	(tt)	Daniels, CharlesCharles Daniels	United States	15 Apr 1910	Special record attempt by the New York AC	New York City, United States	[4]
4	1:02.4		Bretting, KurtKurt Bretting	Germany	6 Apr 1912	–	Brussels, Belgium	[5]
5	1:01.6		Kahanamoku, DukeDuke Kahanamoku	United States	20 Jul 1912	–	Hamburg, Germany
6	1:01.4		Kahanamoku, DukeDuke Kahanamoku	United States	9 Aug 1918	International exhibition	New York City, United States	[6]
7	1:00.4		Kahanamoku, DukeDuke Kahanamoku	United States	24 Aug 1920	Olympic Games	Antwerp, Belgium
8	58.6		Weissmuller, JohnnyJohnny Weissmuller	United States	19 Jul 1922	–	Alameda, California, United States
9	57.4		Weissmuller, JohnnyJohnny Weissmuller	United States	17 Feb 1924	–	Miami, United States
10	56.8		Fick, PeterPeter Fick	United States	2 Mar 1934	Yale University Swimming Carnival	New Haven, United States	[7]
11	56.6	(tt)	Fick, PeterPeter Fick	United States	5 Mar 1935	Yale University Swimming Carnival	New Haven, United States	[8]
12	56.4		Fick, PeterPeter Fick	United States	11 Feb 1936	Yale Benefit Event for the United States Olympic team	New Haven, United States	[9]
13	55.9	(tt)	Ford, AlanAlan Ford	United States	13 Apr 1944	Special record attempt	New Haven, United States	[10]
14	55.8		Jany, AlexAlex Jany	France	15 Sep 1947	–	Menton, France
15	55.4	(tt)	Ford, AlanAlan Ford	United States	29 Jun 1948	New Haven Swim Club team time trial	New Haven, United States	[11]
16	54.8	(tt)	Cleveland, DickDick Cleveland	United States	1 Apr 1954	AAU Championships	New Haven, United States	[12]
17	55.4		Henricks, JonJon Henricks	Australia	30 Nov 1956	Olympic Games	Melbourne, Australia	[13]
18	55.2		Devitt, JohnJohn Devitt	Australia	19 Jan 1957	New South Wales State Championships	Sydney, Australia	[14]
19	54.6		Devitt, JohnJohn Devitt	Australia	28 Jan 1957	Queensland State Championships	Brisbane, Australia	[15]
20	54.4		Clark, SteveSteve Clark	United States	18 Aug 1961	Men's NAAA Championships	Los Angeles, United States	[16]
21	53.6	(tt)	Santos, Manuel dosManuel dos Santos	Brazil	20 Sep 1961	Special record attempt by the CR Guanabara	Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
22	52.9		Gottvallès, AlainAlain Gottvallès	France	13 Sep 1964	–	Budapest, Hungary
22=	52.9	(r)	Clark, SteveSteve Clark	United States	14 Oct 1964	Olympic Games	Tokyo, Japan	[17]
23	52.6	(r)	Walsh, KenKen Walsh	United States	27 Jul 1967	Pan American Games	Winnipeg, Canada	[18]
23=	52.6		Zorn, ZacZac Zorn	United States	2 Sep 1968	USA Olympic Trials (elec. 52.58)	Los Angeles, United States	[19]
24	52.2		Wenden, MichaelMichael Wenden	Australia	19 Oct 1968	Olympic Games	Mexico City, Mexico	[20]
25	51.94	(h)	Spitz, MarkMark Spitz	United States	23 Aug 1970	AAU Championships	Los Angeles, United States	[21]
26	51.47	(h)	Spitz, MarkMark Spitz	United States	5 Aug 1972	USA Olympic Trials	Chicago, United States	[22]
27	51.22		Spitz, MarkMark Spitz	United States	3 Sep 1972	Olympic Games	Munich, West Germany	[23]
28	51.12	(h)	Montgomery, JimJim Montgomery	United States	21 Jun 1975	AAU World Championship Trials	Long Beach, United States	[24]
29	51.11		Coan, AndyAndy Coan	United States	3 Aug 1975	An Amateur Athletic Union Region Four meet	Fort Lauderdale, United States	[25]
30	50.59	(sf)	Montgomery, JimJim Montgomery	United States	23 Aug 1975	AAU Championships	Kansas City, United States	[26]
31	50.39	(sf)	Montgomery, JimJim Montgomery	United States	24 Jul 1976	Olympic Games	Montreal, Canada	[27]
32	49.99		Montgomery, JimJim Montgomery	United States	25 Jul 1976	Olympic Games	Montreal, Canada	[28]
33	49.44		Skinner, JontyJonty Skinner	South Africa	14 Aug 1976	AAU Championships	Philadelphia, United States	[29]
34	49.36	(tt)	Gaines, RowdyRowdy Gaines	United States	3 Apr 1981	Longhorn Invitational	Austin, United States
35	49.24	(h)	Biondi, MattMatt Biondi	United States	6 Aug 1985	USA Summer Nationals	Mission Viejo, United States	[30]
36	48.95		Biondi, MattMatt Biondi	United States	6 Aug 1985	USA Summer Nationals	Mission Viejo, United States	[31]
37	48.74		Biondi, MattMatt Biondi	United States	24 Jun 1986	USA World Championships Trials	Orlando, United States	[32]
38	48.42		Biondi, MattMatt Biondi	United States	10 Aug 1988	USA Olympic Trials	Austin, United States
39	48.21		Popov, AlexanderAlexander Popov	Russia	18 Jun 1994	International Swimming Meeting of Monte Carlo	Monte-Carlo, Monaco
40	48.18	(r)	Klim, MichaelMichael Klim	Australia	16 Sep 2000	Olympic Games	Sydney, Australia	[33]
41	47.84	(sf)	Hoogenband, Pieter van denPieter van den Hoogenband	Netherlands	19 Sep 2000	Olympic Games	Sydney, Australia	[34]
42	47.60	(sf)	Bernard, AlainAlain Bernard	France	21 Mar 2008	European Championships	Eindhoven, Netherlands	[35]
43	47.50		Bernard, AlainAlain Bernard	France	22 Mar 2008	European Championships	Eindhoven, Netherlands	[36]
44	47.24	(r)	Sullivan, EamonEamon Sullivan	Australia	11 Aug 2008	Olympic Games	Beijing, China	[37]
45	47.20	(sf)	Bernard, AlainAlain Bernard	France	13 Aug 2008	Olympic Games	Beijing, China	[38]
46	47.05	(sf)	Sullivan, EamonEamon Sullivan	Australia	13 Aug 2008	Olympic Games	Beijing, China
47	46.94		Bernard, AlainAlain Bernard	France	23 Apr 2009	French National Championships	Montpellier, France	[39][40]
48	46.91		Cielo, CésarCésar Cielo	Brazil	30 Jul 2009	World Championships	Rome, Italy	[41]

Short course

#	Time		Name	Nationality	Date	Meet	Location	Ref
WBT	48.20		Gross, MichaelMichael Gross	West Germany	11 Feb 1988	?	Offenbach, Germany	[42] [43]
1	47.94		Borges, GustavoGustavo Borges	Brazil	2 Jul 1993	Brazil Nationals	Santos, São Paulo, Brazil	[44]
2	47.83		Popov, AlexanderAlexander Popov	Russia	1 Jan 1994	World Cup	Hong Kong
3	47.82		Popov, AlexanderAlexander Popov	Russia	5 Jan 1994	World Cup	Beijing, China
4	47.12		Popov, AlexanderAlexander Popov	Russia	12 Mar 1994	World Cup	Desenzano del Garda, Italy
5	46.74		Popov, AlexanderAlexander Popov	Russia	19 Mar 1994	World Cup	Gelsenkirchen, Germany
6	46.25		Crocker, IanIan Crocker	United States	27 Mar 2004	NCAA Men's Division 1 Championships	East Meadow, United States	[45]
6=	46.25		Schoeman, RolandRoland Schoeman	South Africa	22 Jan 2005	World Cup	Berlin, Germany	[46]
7	45.83		Nystrand, StefanStefan Nystrand	Sweden	17 Nov 2007	World Cup	Berlin, Germany	[47]
8	45.69		Bernard, AlainAlain Bernard	France	7 Dec 2008	French SC Championships	Angers, France
9	45.12	(sf)	Leveaux, AmauryAmaury Leveaux	France	12 Dec 2008	European SC Championships	Rijeka, Croatia	[48]
10	44.94		Leveaux, AmauryAmaury Leveaux	France	13 Dec 2008	European SC Championships	Rijeka, Croatia

Women

Long course

#	Time		Name	Nationality	Date	Meet	Location	Ref
1	1:35.0		Gerstung, MarthaMartha Gerstung	Germany	18 Oct 1908	–	Magdeburg, Germany
2	1:26.6		Guttenstein, ClaireClaire Guttenstein	Belgium	2 Oct 1910	–	Schaerbeek, Belgium
3	1:24.6		Curwen, DaisyDaisy Curwen	Great Britain	29 Sep 1911	–	Liverpool, United Kingdom
4	1:20.6		Curwen, DaisyDaisy Curwen	Great Britain	10 Jun 1912	–	Birkenhead, United Kingdom
5	1:19.8		Durack, FannyFanny Durack	Australia	9 Jul 1912	Olympic Games	Stockholm, Sweden	[49]
6	1:18.8		Durack, FannyFanny Durack	Australia	21 Jul 1912	–	Hamburg, Germany
7	1:16.2		Durack, FannyFanny Durack	Australia	6 Feb 1915	NSW Ladies' Amateur Championships	Sydney, Australia	[50]
8	1:14.4	(sf)	Bleibtrey, EtheldaEthelda Bleibtrey	United States	23 Aug 1920	Olympic Games	Antwerp, Belgium	[51]
9	1:13.6		Bleibtrey, EtheldaEthelda Bleibtrey	United States	25 Aug 1920	Olympic Games	Antwerp, Belgium	[52]
10	1:12.8		Ederle, GertrudeGertrude Ederle	United States	30 Jun 1923	–	Newark, New Jersey, United States	[53]
11	1:12.2	(h)	Wehselau, MariechenMariechen Wehselau	United States	19 Jul 1924	Olympic Games	Paris, France
12	1:10.0		Lackie, EthelEthel Lackie	United States	28 Jan 1926	–	Toledo, OH, United States	[54]
13	1:09.8		Garatti, EleanorEleanor Garatti	United States	7 Aug 1929	National AAU women's swimming meet	Honolulu, Hawaii	[55]
14	1:09.4		Osipowich, AlbinaAlbina Osipowich	United States	25 Aug 1929	–	San Francisco, United States
15	1:08.0		Madison, HeleneHelene Madison	United States	14 Mar 1930	National AAU Women's Indoor Swimming and Diving Championships	Miami Beach, United States	[56]
16	1:06.6		Madison, HeleneHelene Madison	United States	20 Apr 1931	–	Boston, United States
17	1:06.0		Ouden, Willy denWilly den Ouden	Netherlands	9 Jul 1933	–	Antwerp, Belgium
18	1:05.4		Ouden, Willy denWilly den Ouden	Netherlands	24 Feb 1934	–	Amsterdam, Netherlands
19	1:04.8		Ouden, Willy denWilly den Ouden	Netherlands	15 Apr 1934	–	Rotterdam, Netherlands
20	1:04.6		Ouden, Willy denWilly den Ouden	Netherlands	27 Feb 1936	–	Amsterdam, Netherlands
21	1:04.5		Fraser, DawnDawn Fraser	Australia	21 Feb 1956	Australian Championships	Sydney, Australia	[57]
22	1:04.2		Gastelaars, CockyCocky Gastelaars	Netherlands	3 Mar 1956	–	Amsterdam, Netherlands
23	1:04.0		Gastelaars, CockyCocky Gastelaars	Netherlands	14 Apr 1956	–	Schiedam, Netherlands
24	1:03.3		Fraser, DawnDawn Fraser	Australia	25 Aug 1956	Australian Olympic Squad Swimming Carnival	Townsville, Australia	[58]
25	1:03.2		Crapp, LorraineLorraine Crapp	Australia	20 Oct 1956	Australian Olympic Squad Swimming Carnival	Sydney, Australia	[59]
26	1:02.4		Crapp, LorraineLorraine Crapp	Australia	25 Oct 1956	Australian Olympic Trials	Melbourne, Australia	[60]
27	1:02.0		Fraser, DawnDawn Fraser	Australia	1 Dec 1956	Olympic Games	Melbourne, Australia	[61]
28	1:01.5	(yd)	Fraser, DawnDawn Fraser	Australia	18 Feb 1958	Australian Championships	Melbourne, Australia	[62]
29	1:01.4	(yd)	Fraser, DawnDawn Fraser	Australia	21 Jul 1958	British Empire & Commonwealth Games	Cardiff, United Kingdom	[63]
30	1:01.2		Fraser, DawnDawn Fraser	Australia	10 Aug 1958	–	Schiedam, Netherlands
31	1:00.2	(yd)	Fraser, DawnDawn Fraser	Australia	23 Feb 1960	Australian Championships & Olympic Trials	Sydney, Australia	[64]
32	1:00.0	(yd)	Fraser, DawnDawn Fraser	Australia	23 Oct 1962	Australian British Empire & Commonwealth Games Trials	Melbourne, Australia	[65]
33	59.9	(yd)	Fraser, DawnDawn Fraser	Australia	27 Oct 1962	Australian British Empire & Commonwealth Games Trials	Melbourne, Australia	[66]
34	59.5	(yd)	Fraser, DawnDawn Fraser	Australia	24 Nov 1962	British Empire & Commonwealth Games	Perth, Australia	[67]
35	58.9		Fraser, DawnDawn Fraser	Australia	29 Feb 1964	Australian Championships & Olympic Trials	Sydney, Australia	[68]
35=	58.9		Gould, ShaneShane Gould	Australia	30 Apr 1971	Coca Cola International	London, United Kingdom	[69]
36	58.5		Gould, ShaneShane Gould	Australia	8 Jan 1972	New South Wales State Championships	Sydney, Australia	[70]
37	58.25		Ender, KorneliaKornelia Ender	East Germany	13 Jul 1973	GDR Nationals & World Championship Trials	East Berlin, East Germany
38	58.12		Ender, KorneliaKornelia Ender	East Germany	18 Aug 1973	–	Utrecht, Netherlands
39	57.61	(r)	Ender, KorneliaKornelia Ender	East Germany	8 Sep 1973	World Championships	Belgrade, Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia
40	57.54		Ender, KorneliaKornelia Ender	East Germany	9 Sep 1973	World Championships	Belgrade, Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia
41	57.51		Ender, KorneliaKornelia Ender	East Germany	4 Jul 1974	GDR Nationals & European Championship Trials	Rostock, East Germany
42	56.96		Ender, KorneliaKornelia Ender	East Germany	19 Aug 1974	European Championships	Vienna, Austria
43	56.38		Ender, KorneliaKornelia Ender	East Germany	14 Mar 1975	GDRvURS Duel	Dresden, East Germany
44	56.22	(r)	Ender, KorneliaKornelia Ender	East Germany	26 Jul 1975	World Championships	Cali, Colombia
45	55.73		Ender, KorneliaKornelia Ender	East Germany	1 Jun 1976	GDR Olympic Trials	East Berlin, East Germany
46	55.65		Ender, KorneliaKornelia Ender	East Germany	19 Jul 1976	Olympic Games	Montréal, Canada
47	55.41		Krause, BarbaraBarbara Krause	East Germany	5 Jul 1978	GDR Nationals & World Championship Trials	East Berlin, East Germany
48	54.98	(h)	Krause, BarbaraBarbara Krause	East Germany	20 Jul 1980	Olympic Games	Moscow, Soviet Union
49	54.79		Krause, BarbaraBarbara Krause	East Germany	21 Jul 1980	Olympic Games	Moscow, Soviet Union
50	54.73	(r)	Otto, KristinKristin Otto	East Germany	19 Aug 1986	World Championships	Madrid, Spain
51	54.48	(h)	Thompson, JennyJenny Thompson	United States	1 Mar 1992	USA Olympic Trials	Indianapolis, United States	[71]
52	54.01		Jingyi Le	China	5 Sep 1994	World Championships	Rome, Italy	[72]
53	53.80		Bruijn, Inge deInge de Bruijn	Netherlands	28 May 2000	Super Speedo Grand Prix	Sheffield, United Kingdom	[73]
54	53.77	(sf)	Bruijn, Inge deInge de Bruijn	Netherlands	20 Sep 2000	Olympic Games	Sydney, Australia	[74]
55	53.66	(sf)	Lenton, LibbyLibby Lenton	Australia	31 Mar 2004	Australian Championships & Olympic Trials	Sydney, Australia	[75]
56	53.52	(sf)	Henry, JodieJodie Henry	Australia	18 Aug 2004	Olympic Games	Athens, Greece	[76]
57	53.42	(sf)	Lenton, LibbyLibby Lenton	Australia	31 Jan 2006	Australian Championships & Commonwealth Games Trials	Melbourne, Australia	[77]
58	53.30		Steffen, BrittaBritta Steffen	Germany	2 Aug 2006	European Championships	Budapest, Hungary	[78]
59	52.88		Trickett, LisbethLisbeth Trickett	Australia	27 Mar 2008	Australian Championships	Sydney, Australia	[79]
60	52.85		Steffen, BrittaBritta Steffen	Germany	25 Jun 2009	German Championships	Berlin, Germany	[80]
61	52.56		Steffen, BrittaBritta Steffen	Germany	27 Jun 2009	German Championships	Berlin, Germany	[81]
62	52.22	(r)	Steffen, BrittaBritta Steffen	Germany	26 Jul 2009	World Championships	Rome, Italy	[82]
63	52.07		Steffen, BrittaBritta Steffen	Germany	31 Jul 2009	World Championships	Rome, Italy	[82]

Legend: # – Record awaiting ratification by FINA; yd – set in a pool measured in yards;
Records not set in finals: h – heat; sf – semifinal; r – relay 1st leg; rh – relay heat 1st leg; b – B final; † – en route to final mark; tt – time trial

Short course

#	Time		Name	Nationality	Date	Meet	Location	Ref
1	53.46		Almsick, Franziska vanFranziska van Almsick	Germany	6 Jan 1993	World Cup	Shanghai, China	[83]
2	53.33		Almsick, Franziska vanFranziska van Almsick	Germany	10 Jan 1993	World Cup	Beijing, China	[84]
3	53.01		Jingyi Le	China	2 Dec 1993	World SC Championships	Palma de Mallorca, Spain
4	52.80		Alshammar, ThereseTherese Alshammar	Sweden	10 Dec 1999	European SC Championships	Lisbon, Portugal	[85]
5	52.17		Alshammar, ThereseTherese Alshammar	Sweden	17 Mar 2000	World SC Championships	Athens, Greece	[86][87]
6	51.91	(sf)	Lenton, LibbyLibby Lenton	Australia	8 Aug 2005	Australian SC Championships	Melbourne, Australia	[88]
7	51.70		Lenton, LibbyLibby Lenton	Australia	9 Aug 2005	Australian SC Championships	Melbourne, Australia	[89]
8	51.01		Trickett, LibbyLibby Trickett	Australia	10 Aug 2009	Australian SC Championships	Hobart, Australia	[90]
9	50.91	†#	Campbell, CateCate Campbell	Australia	28 Nov 2015	Australian SC Championships	Sydney, Australia	[91]

Legend: # – Record awaiting ratification by FINA;
Records not set in finals: h – heat; sf – semifinal; r – relay 1st leg; rh – relay heat 1st leg; b – B final; † – en route to final mark; tt – time trial

References

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