SwimSwam’s Top 100 For 2026: Men’s #10-1

By James Sutherland on SwimSwam

Note: we’ve excluded swimmers who have no sign of being in the pool in 2026, and hedged on others like Sarah Sjostrom that we expect to be back but don’t really know how they’ll be. These ranks always wind up a bit wonky because there’s so much opacity to the situations.

Men’s Rankings:

• #100-91
• #90-81
• #80-71
• #70-61
• #60-51
• #50-41
• #40-31
• #30-21
• #20-11

#10: Pan Zhanle, China (2025 Rank: 2) – On one hand, Pan is just 18 months removed from unleashing arguably the greatest swim in history. On the other hand, he’s coming off a disappointing 2025 that included missing the final of the 100 free (and the semis of the 200 free) at the World Championships, and his highest world ranking for the year being 16th. But as a 21-year-old who’s the reigning Olympic champion and world record holder in the sport’s blue ribbon event, the 100 free, it’s impossible to rank Pan outside the top 10 despite his 2025 results. And it’s not like it was all bad. The Chinese native set a personal best time in the 400 free (3:45.34) at the Chinese Nationals in May, ranking him 16th in the world to match where he stood in the 100 free (47.77), and he was also solid in the 200 free (1:45.45) to rank 17th in the world. In addition to his world record in the 100 free (46.40), his 200 free lifetime best is also elite, having been 1:44.65 back in 2023. We also can’t forget that he produced a 1:43.90 anchor leg on China’s 4×200 free relay at the World Championships. This year, it will be interesting to watch for two things. Firstly, if Pan gets back into sub-47 territory in the 100 free. Prior to breaking the world record in 46.40, he went 46.80 at the 2024 World Championships, and then 46.92 early at the Paris Olympics (both on relay lead-offs). So it was starting to become common for him to produce a world-class performance in the event before he was a touch off last year. The other question will be if he continues to work on an expanded event range, having raced the 200 and 400 competitively last year in long course and even tackled the 800 (with success) in short course in 2024, or if he’ll dial in more on the 100 while also swimming the 50 and 200.

#9: Qin Haiyang, China (2025 Rank: 8) – Qin reestablished himself as the world’s best male breaststroker last year after a dip in form in 2024. The Chinese star had a historic 2023, becoming the first swimmer ever to win gold in the 50, 100 and 200 of the same stroke at a single edition of the World Championships. That included breaking the world record in the 200 breast (2:05.48) and becoming the second-fastest performer in history in the 50 breast (26.20) and 100 breast (57.69) behind Adam Peaty. But the Olympic year didn’t go as smoothly for Qin, placing 7th in the 100 breast and 10th in the 200 breast at the Paris Olympics, while not approaching the record swims he produced the year prior. Last year was a return to the top for the 26-year-old, as he won double gold at the World Championships in the 100 breast (58.23) and 200 breast (2:07.41) while adding a bronze in the 50 breast (26.67). He ranked #1 in the world in the 100, #4 in the 200 and #5 in the 50. No one in the world is as well-rounded across all three distances, with Kirill Prigoda a close second, but Qin has proven he can come out on top on the big stage. He’ll have a real challenge on his hands this year at the Asian Games in rising Japanese star Shin Ohashi, who ranked #1 in the world last year in the 200 breast, but Qin remains the man to beat and holds the distinction of being the top-ranked breaststroker on this list until someone unseats him.

#8: Lukas Märtens, Germany (2025 Rank: 10) – Märtens had one of the best swims of the year in 2025, becoming the first man to break 3:40 in the 400 freestyle and breaking the super-suited world record of 3:40.07 set by Paul Biedermann in 2009. Märtens’ 3:39.96 performance at the Swim Open Stockholm in April came on the back of winning Olympic gold in the 400 free in Paris, and he continued to showcase his dominance in the event throughout the year, clocking 3:40.61 in May and then winning the world title in July. Despite not having his best stuff, Märtens still managed to out-touch Australian Sam Short by two one-hundredths for gold at the World Championships in a time of 3:42.35. Märtens also won bronze in the 800 free in Singapore in a time of 7:40.19 after setting a best time of 7:39.10 in April to finish the year ranked 3rd. The 24-year-old also ranked 4th in the world in the 200 free (1:44.25) and 18th in the 200 back (1:56.00) in 2025, though he didn’t swim the 200 free in Singapore and missed the semis in the 200 back. The German will have a target on his back this year in the 400 free as the massive favorite at the European Championships, and he’ll also be in the thick of the battle for medals in the 200 and 800 free. It will also be interesting to see if he opts to compete at Short Course Worlds after he finished 2025 at the SC European Championships, earning silver in the 400 free.

#7: Noe Ponti, Switzerland (2025 Rank: 11) – A short course powerhouse, Ponti made big strides last year in the long course pool, joining the sub-50 club in the 100 fly and winning the first two medals of his career at the LC World Championships. The 24-year-old Swiss native set national records in the final at Worlds in the 50 fly (22.51) and 100 fly (49.83), winning silver and moving to #5 all-time in both. The only swimmer faster than him in either event in 2025 was double gold medalist Maxime Grousset, who was only three one-hundredths quicker in the 50 (22.48) and had a gap of 21 one-hundredths in the 100 (49.62). But part of why Ponti was a lock to rank in the top 10 was what he’s able to do in the short course pool. The triple SC world champion in 2024 in the men’s 50 fly, 100 fly and 100 IM, the Locarno native owns the world record in the SC 50 fly (21.32), ranks #2 all-time in the 100 fly (47.71) after seeing his world record broken last fall, and also sits #5 historically in the 100 IM (50.33). Although Ponti was not as dominant on the 2025 World Cup circuit as he was in 2024, only winning two events (2×100 fly) after claiming seven the year prior, he’s still hard to dispute as the early favorite to defend his world titles in December at SC Worlds. He had some of his best SC swims come in the spring, clocking 47.98 in the 100 fly and 1:48.77 in the 200 fly, the latter marking a new PB and Swiss Record. At the end of 2025, Ponti finished out the year with a bang at SC Euros, winning gold in the 50 fly (21.54), 200 fly (1:50.17) and 100 IM (50.52) while settling for silver in the 100 fly (48.11) behind Grousset by one one-hundredth. This year presents an opportunity for Ponti to go head-to-head with Grousset once again in the 50 and 100 fly at the European Championships in the summer, and then in the back-end of 2026, Ponti has a chance to pile up a significant medal haul at SC Worlds.

#6: Maxime Grousset, France (2025 Rank: 19) – As has been outlined above, Ponti was the second-best male sprint butterflier last year, but Grousset was the best. The 2023 world champion in the 100 fly, Grousset failed to reach the podium in the event on home soil at the Paris Olympics, but rebounded in a big way in 2025. The Frenchman opened the World Championships in Singapore by winning gold in the 50 fly in a national record of 22.48, and then followed up by rolling over the field in the final of the 100 fly, going out in a blistering 22.80 at the 50 before claiming the title in a time of 49.62. That swim marked Grousset’s first time under 50 seconds, lowering his French Record of 50.11, and it also ousted Kristof Milak‘s European Record of 49.68 from 2021. That swim in the final felt, going sub-50, like it was a long time coming for Grousset, who unleashed the second-fastest relay split of all-time in the 100 fly at the 2023 World Championships in 49.27, and then followed up by splitting 49.57 at the Olympics. In Singapore, a few days after winning the 100 fly, he produced another 49.27 split as the French won silver in the 4×100 medley relay. Grousset also made the final of the 100 free, placing 7th (47.59) after setting a season-best of 47.39 in the semis, and led off in 47.62 as France snagged bronze in the mixed 4×100 free relay. He carried his World Championship momentum through to the end of the year, winning five individual medals at SC Euros, including gold in the 100 free (45.17) and 100 fly (48.10), silver in the 50 free (20.81) and 100 IM (50.53), and bronze in the 50 fly (21.99). Two weeks later, Grousset set a new lifetime best in the LC 50 free in 21.51, ranking him 8th in the world for the year, and he added another PB in the 200 free (1:46.31) to rank 39th in the world. The 26-year-old is a four-event medal threat at the European Championships this summer, with realistic hopes of gold in all but the 100 free, and he’s now got to be looked at as a five-medal chance at SC Worlds after what he did in the 100 IM at SC Euros.

#5: Pieter Coetze, South Africa (2025 Rank: 42) – Coetze rockets up the rankings after sitting outside the top 40 last year, thanks to an incredible 2025 that saw him establish himself as, arguably, the world’s best all-around backstroker. The South African set off a warning shot shortly before the World Championships at the World University Games in mid-July, joining the sub-52 club in the 100 back (51.99), and then followed up with a standout performance in Singapore. The 21-year-old won gold in one of the most stacked finals of the meet in the 100 back, resetting his African Record in 51.85 to move into a tie for #3 all-time in the event. He had a similarly impressive performance in the 200 back, pushing Hubert Kos all the way to the wall as Coetze won silver in another African Record of 1:53.36, ranking him #7 all-time and the third-fastest swimmer in the past decade. That swim was also more than two seconds faster than his best time coming into the meet (1:55.60). Coetze capped things off by making it a perfect three-for-three in backstroke medals and African Records in Singapore, clocking 24.17 in the 50 back final to win silver. Along with his backstroke exploits, Coetze also took a step last year in the 100 free, breaking 48 seconds for the first time at the World University Games in 47.88 to crack the top 20 in the world rankings. Four years ago, Coetze won a medal in all three backstroke events at the Commonwealth Games (one of each color), and now, at the 2026 edition, he’ll be the massive favorite to sweep them—something that’s only been done once (Mitch Larkin in 2018) since the 50s were introduced in 2002. We don’t know if South Africa will field a team at the 2026 Pan Pacs—they have in the past, but didn’t at the most recent edition in 2018—but if they do, Coetze will be the top male backstroker with a bullet. An appearance from Coetze at SC Worlds would also be exciting after he won five of the six races he contested during the 2024 World Cup.

#4: Ahmed Jaouadi, Tunisia (2025 Rank: 21) – After bursting onto the scene in 2024, making a pair of Olympic finals and winning the short course world title in the 1500 free, Jaouadi took over the mantle as the best male distance swimmer in the world in 2025. Carrying on Tunisia’s incredible distance freestyle legacy, Jaouadi opened his World Championship campaign in Singapore with a bang, winning gold in the 800 free in dominant fashion by more than three seconds in 7:36.88, the fastest ever done in a textile suit to rank him #3 all-time. Coming into the meet, Jaouadi’s best time stood at 7:42.07, set at the Paris Olympics, and he lowered that mark to 7:41.58 in the prelims. A few days later, the 20-year-old completed the double, hanging with the leaders through the 1300-meter mark of the men’s 1500 free final before making his move, pulling away from Sven Schwarz and Bobby Finke to claim gold in a time of 14:34.41. That swim dropped nearly nine seconds off Jaouadi’s previous best time of 14:43.35 and made him the sixth-fastest performer in history. This year, it’s unclear which long course meet Jaouadi will be targeting—possibly the Mediterranean Games late in the summer—but the focus will be on what type of times he’s able to produce after consistently improving over the last few years. Can he push the 14:30 barrier in the 1500 free? Zhang Lin‘s super-suited world record in the 800 free looks like it’s out of reach for now, but Ous Mellouli‘s African and Tunisian Record of 7:35.27 could be in Jaouadi’s crosshairs. Currently honing his short course ability at the University of Florida, Jaouadi will also be a major threat at Short Course Worlds this December, coming in as the defending champ in the 1500 while looking to improve on the bronze medal he won in the 800 in 2024.

#3: David Popovici, Romania (2025 Rank: 5) – Popovici has been the world’s premier 100/200 freestyler for the past four years, no questions asked. After exploding in 2022, breaking the world record in the 100 free and the textile world record in the 200 free while winning both world titles as a 17-year-old, the Romanian bounced back from a down 2023 by winning Olympic gold in the 200 free in 2024 and adding a bronze in the 100 free. The Olympic success was obviously the main focus of 2024, but another key thing that we saw that year was Popovici showed glimpses of his 2022 form, breaking 47 seconds for the first time in the 100 free in two years (46.88) and recording his second-fastest swim ever in the 200 free (1:43.13) one month prior to the Games at the 2024 European Championships in Belgrade. In 2025, he carried that momentum forward, first impressing at the European U23 Championships in June, where he set a new European Record in the 100 free (46.71) and added a 1:43.64 clocking in the 200 free. One month later, he completed the 100/200 free double for the second time in his career at the World Championships. In the 200 free final, Popovici ran down American Luke Hobson on the last 50 to claim gold in a time of 1:43.53, ranking him #1 in the world for the year. Two nights later in the final of the 100 free, Popovici was simply undeniable, firing off the second-fastest swim in history in 46.51, resetting his month-old European Record by two-tenths and outduelling American Jack Alexy, who had put himself into contention after putting up a time of 46.81 in the semis. Popovici also set a new best time of 21.83 in the 50 free in 2025, ranking him tied for 29th in the world. The 21-year-old will be the clear-cut favorite for double gold in the 100 and 200 free at the European Championships this summer, with Pan Zhanle‘s world record in the 100 free (46.40) and a return to sub-1:43 territory in the 200 free being two reasonable goals. It would also be fun to see Popovici return to the Short Course World Championships, having competed in 2022 (when he said he hated the format) and claimed silver in the 200 free and placed 4th in the 100 free.

#2: Hubert Kos, Hungary (2025 Rank: 12) – Although Kos was only the fastest man in the world in one event last year, compared to some others below him on the list having multiple top rankings, the Hungarian ranks this high due to his rare versatility and his distinction of having broken multiple world records in 2025. The 2023 world champion and 2024 Olympic gold medalist in the 200 back, Kos defended his throne in his pet event last year, holding off Pieter Coetze in a razor-thin race that saw Kos produce a new European Record and become the fifth-fastest performer ever (and fastest in a decade) in 1:53.19. The 22-year-old also won bronze in the 200 IM at Worlds in a time of 1:55.34, and added a 4th-place finish in the 100 back (52.20) and an 8th-place finish in the 50 back (24.62 / 24.50 in semis), setting new lifetime bests across the board. One event he did not race in Singapore but was among the world’s best last year was the 100 fly, where Kos dropped a time of 50.55 in April to rank #7 in the world. He also went 50-point twice in 2024, so if he turns the 100 fly into an area of focus, everyone should watch out. After the World Championships, Kos went on an incredible run during the World Cup series, winning the overall men’s title after sweeping the 50, 100 and 200 back at all three stops. His World Cup triumph was highlighted by a pair of world record swims at the final leg in Toronto, setting new SCM marks in the 100 back (48.16) and 200 back (1:45.12). In December, Kos skipped the SC European Championships and instead raced the U.S. Open, posting incredible in-season long course times in the 100 back (52.63), 200 back (1:54.21) and 200 IM (1:55.50) while also contesting the 50 back (24.74), 100 fly (51.72) and 200 fly (1:56.01). Given what we saw from him in the last few months of 2025, this year will be a big one for Kos. He has countless medal opportunities at the European Championships, headlined by the 200 back, where he’ll be the gold medal favorite, and it also feels like he’ll be a sub-52 guy in the 100 back this year, putting him into title contention. In the 200 IM, he’s the clear #2 behind training partner Leon Marchand, and then there’s also the 50 back and 100 fly, where he could be in the medal picture. At SC Worlds, Kos has a very good chance of sweeping all three backstroke events, something that’s only been done once (Ryan Murphy in 2018) since the 50 was added to the program in 1999.

#1: Leon Marchand, France (2025 Rank: 1) – After a historic 2024 that included winning four individual gold medals on home soil at the Paris Olympics, Marchand took a bit of a step back from his usual training load in the aftermath, enjoying life outside the pool and taking a three-month training trip to Australia in January. The Frenchman only returned to head coach Bob Bowman at the University of Texas early in the spring of 2025, once the NCAA season had concluded, and despite that shortened build up to the World Championships, Marchand was still a dominant force. However, he did take on a lighter schedule than we’d seen in previous years, opting out of the 200 breast and 200 fly and only contesting the medley events. In Singapore, Marchand had to sit and wait for the first three days of competition before he finally got the opportunity to race, and he made the most of it. In the semi-finals of the 200 IM, Marchand unleashed a stunning performance, smashing Ryan Lochte‘s 14-year-old world record by 1.31 seconds in a time of 1:52.69, knocking off his personal best and European Record of 1:54.06 by an even bigger margin (1.37 seconds). Marchand followed up by winning gold in the final in 1:53.68, history’s second swim sub-1:54, leading a podium sweep for his training partners in the process. On the final day of competition, Marchand won gold by nearly four seconds in the 400 IM in a time of 4:04.73, the fifth-fastest swim ever and fourth-fastest of his career. That victory gave him three career swims of the men’s medley events at the World Championships, having also done so in 2022 and 2023 (plus the 2024 Olympics). In addition to his two individual golds, Marchand produced a career-best 1:44.34 split as the French men placed sixth in the 4×200 free relay, and was also 58.44 on the breast leg—faster than his 58.62 from Paris—of the French men’s medley relay that won silver. Despite the 200 and 400 IM being the only events he raced tapered in 2025, Marchand still finished the year ranked 2nd in the world in the 200 fly (1:52.57), 9th in the 400 free (3:44.70) and 200 breast (2:08.25), and 23rd in the 100 fly (51.20). Given that he was able to produce his 1:52.5 200 fly swim in December at the U.S. Open, it seems very plausible that Marchand has a 1:50-point swim in store this year. In the 200 breast, given how weak the rest of the world was last year, there’s little doubt he can be back in the 2:05s, challenging the world record, and being #1 in the world again. And then there’s the development we’ve seen in his freestyle, which will be an interesting storyline to track this year. With two years until the Olympics, 2026 will be a key season to put in the work and make any stroke refinements that need to be in place by LA. At the European Championships, which will be another homecoming for Marchand as they’ll be held in Paris, the schedule will be relatively conflict-free to allow him to swim the 200 breast, 200 fly, 200 IM and 400 IM, with the only event clash being the 200 fly final and 200 IM semis coinciding during Day 6 finals. He’ll be the favorite for gold in all four, and a realistic chance to break the world record in any of them. If Marchand attends the Short Course World Championships, which would be electric after what he did to the record book in his NCAA career, there’s no limit to the number of medals he could walk away with.

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