Swimming (long course, 50 m pool) world records
World records in long-course (50 m pool) swimming, recognized by World Aquatics. Several records from 2009 still stand from the "supersuit" era, when polyurethane suits were allowed; they were banned from 2010.
| Event | Time | Record holder | Date | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 50 m freestyle Men | 20.88 new | Cameron McEvoy (AUS) Broke Cesar Cielo's 20.91 from 2009 | Mar 20, 2026 Shenzhen, China source | Race it |
| 100 m freestyle Men | 46.40 | Pan Zhanle (CHN) | Jul 31, 2024 Paris, France source | Race it |
| 200 m freestyle Men | 1:42.00 | Paul Biedermann (GER) Supersuit era | Jul 28, 2009 Rome, Italy source | Race it |
| 400 m freestyle Men | 3:39.96 new | Lukas Märtens (GER) | Apr 12, 2025 Stockholm, Sweden source | Race it |
| 800 m freestyle Men | 7:32.12 | Zhang Lin (CHN) Supersuit era | Jul 29, 2009 Rome, Italy source | Race it |
| 1500 m freestyle Men | 14:26.79 new | Johannes Liebmann (GER) European Championships | Aug 15, 2026 Paris, France source | Race it |
| 50 m backstroke Men | 23.55 | Kliment Kolesnikov (RUS) | Jul 27, 2023 Kazan, Russia source | Race it |
| 100 m backstroke Men | 51.60 | Thomas Ceccon (ITA) | Jun 20, 2022 Budapest, Hungary source | Race it |
| 200 m backstroke Men | 1:51.92 | Aaron Peirsol (USA) Supersuit era | Jul 31, 2009 Rome, Italy source | Race it |
| 50 m breaststroke Men | 25.95 | Adam Peaty (GBR) | Jul 25, 2017 Budapest, Hungary source | Race it |
| 100 m breaststroke Men | 56.88 | Adam Peaty (GBR) | Jul 21, 2019 Gwangju, South Korea source | Race it |
| 200 m breaststroke Men | 2:04.83 pending | Shin Ohashi (JPN) Asian Games; pending ratification. Ratified record is 2:05.48 by Qin Haiyang (Fukuoka, 2023) | Sep 24, 2026 Tokyo, Japan source | Race it |
| 50 m butterfly Men | 22.27 | Andriy Govorov (UKR) | Jul 1, 2018 Rome, Italy source | Race it |
| 100 m butterfly Men | 49.45 | Caeleb Dressel (USA) | Jul 31, 2021 Tokyo, Japan source | Race it |
| 200 m butterfly Men | 1:50.34 | Kristóf Milák (HUN) | Jun 21, 2022 Budapest, Hungary source | Race it |
| 200 m individual medley Men | 1:52.69 new | Léon Marchand (FRA) | Jul 30, 2025 Singapore source | Race it |
| 400 m individual medley Men | 4:02.50 | Léon Marchand (FRA) | Jul 23, 2023 Fukuoka, Japan source | Race it |
| 50 m freestyle Women | 23.19 new | Kate Douglass (USA) Pan Pacific Championships; record fell four times in 2026 | Aug 15, 2026 Irvine, USA source | Race it |
| 100 m freestyle Women | 51.68 new | Marrit Steenbergen (NED) | Jun 27, 2026 Rome, Italy source | Race it |
| 200 m freestyle Women | 1:52.23 | Ariarne Titmus (AUS) | Jun 12, 2024 Brisbane, Australia source | Race it |
| 400 m freestyle Women | 3:54.18 new | Summer McIntosh (CAN) | Jun 7, 2025 Victoria, Canada source | Race it |
| 800 m freestyle Women | 8:04.12 new | Katie Ledecky (USA) | May 3, 2025 Fort Lauderdale, USA source | Race it |
| 1500 m freestyle Women | 15:20.48 | Katie Ledecky (USA) | May 16, 2018 Indianapolis, USA source | Race it |
| 50 m backstroke Women | 26.56 new | Sara Curtis (ITA) European Championships | Aug 13, 2026 Paris, France source | Race it |
| 100 m backstroke Women | 57.13 | Regan Smith (USA) | Jun 18, 2024 Indianapolis, USA source | Race it |
| 200 m backstroke Women | 2:03.14 | Kaylee McKeown (AUS) | Mar 10, 2023 Sydney, Australia source | Race it |
| 50 m breaststroke Women | 29.16 | Rūta Meilutytė (LTU) | Jul 30, 2023 Fukuoka, Japan source | Race it |
| 100 m breaststroke Women | 1:04.13 | Lilly King (USA) | Jul 25, 2017 Budapest, Hungary source | Race it |
| 200 m breaststroke Women | 2:17.55 | Evgeniia Chikunova (RUS) | Apr 21, 2023 Kazan, Russia source | Race it |
| 50 m butterfly Women | 24.43 | Sarah Sjöström (SWE) | Jul 5, 2014 Borås, Sweden source | Race it |
| 100 m butterfly Women | 54.33 new | Gretchen Walsh (USA) | May 2, 2026 Fort Lauderdale, USA source | Race it |
| 200 m butterfly Women | 2:01.65 new | Summer McIntosh (CAN) Canadian Trials | Jul 5, 2026 Montreal, Canada source | Race it |
| 200 m individual medley Women | 2:05.70 new | Summer McIntosh (CAN) | Jun 9, 2025 Victoria, Canada source | Race it |
| 400 m individual medley Women | 4:23.65 new | Summer McIntosh (CAN) | Jun 11, 2025 Victoria, Canada source | Race it |
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How we keep these up to date
Records are checked against the governing bodies (World Athletics, World Aquatics, ISU, UCI, World Rowing, the World Cube Association, AIDA and Guinness World Records) and news reports of new marks. A record marked pending has been set but not yet ratified; the note shows the record it would replace. new marks a record set since January 2025. We re-check every record at the start of each month. Last checked: Oct 21, 2026. Spotted a newer record? Tell us.
Developers: the full list is available as world-records.json.
Questions people ask
What is the 50 m freestyle world record?
Men: 20.88 by Cameron McEvoy (2026). Women: 23.19 by Kate Douglass (2026).
What were supersuits?
Full-body polyurethane swimsuits used in 2008–2009 that improved buoyancy. Dozens of records fell before they were banned from January 2010; a few of those records still stand.
How often is this list updated?
We check every record at the start of each month and whenever a new record is reported. Last checked Oct 21, 2026.
Other sports
Last updated Oct 21, 2026.