World record progression 50 metres freestyle

The first world record in the men's 50 metres freestyle in long course (50 metres) swimming was recognized by the International Swimming Federation (FINA) in 1976. In the short course (25 metres) swimming events the world's governing body recognizes world records since March 3, 1991.

The drop in world record times in the 2008/2009 coincided with the introduction of polyurethane suits from Speedo (LZR, 50% polyurethane) in 2008 and by Arena (X-Glide), Adidas (Hydrofoil) and Italian swimming suit manufacturer Jaked (all 100% polyurethane) in 2009. FINA's ban on non-textile suit came into effect on January 2010.^[1] FINA also released a list of approved suits.

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	23.86	†	Skinner, JontyJonty Skinner	South Africa	August 14, 1976	AAU Nationals	Philadelphia, PA, United States
2	23.74		Bottom, JoeJoe Bottom	United States	July 3, 1977	-	Etobicoke, Canada
3	23.72		Manganiello, RonRon Manganiello	United States	Jul 29, 1978	-	Miami, FL, United States
4	23.70		Steinbach, KlausKlaus Steinbach	West Germany	Jul 23, 1979	-	Freiburg, West Germany
5	23.66		Cavanaugh, ChrisChris Cavanaugh	United States	Feb 2, 1980	International Invitational	Amersfoort, Netherlands
6	23.12	(h)	Cavanaugh, ChrisChris Cavanaugh	United States	Apr 10, 1980	USA Spring Nationals	Austin, TX, United States
7	22.96	(h)	Gaines, RowdyRowdy Gaines	United States	Apr 10, 1980	USA Spring Nationals	Austin, TX, United States
8	22.83	(h)	Stahl, BruceBruce Stahl	United States	Apr 10, 1980	USA Spring Nationals	Austin, TX, United States
8=	22.83	(h)	Bottom, JoeJoe Bottom	United States	Aug 15, 1980	Hawaiian Invitational	Honolulu, HI, United States
9	22.71		Bottom, JoeJoe Bottom	United States	Aug 15, 1980	Hawaiian Invitational	Honolulu, HI, United States
10	22.54	(h)	Leamy, RobinRobin Leamy	United States	Aug 15, 1981	USA Nationals	Brown Deer, WI, United States
11	22.52		Halsall, DanoDano Halsall	Switzerland	Jul 21, 1985	SUI Nationals	Bellinzona, Switzerland
12	22.40		Jager, TomTom Jager	United States	Dec 6, 1985	USS Invitational	Austin, TX, United States
13	22.33		Biondi, MattMatt Biondi	United States	Jun 26, 1986	USA World Championship Trials	Orlando, FL, United States
13=	22.33		Biondi, MattMatt Biondi	United States	Jul 30, 1987	USA Nationals & Pan Pacific Trials	Clovis, CA, United States
14	22.32		Jager, TomTom Jager	United States	Aug 13, 1987	Pan Pacific Championships	Brisbane, Australia
15	22.23		Jager, TomTom Jager	United States	Mar 25, 1988	USA Spring Nationals	Orlando, FL, United States
-[2]	22.18		Williams, PeterPeter Williams	South Africa	Apr 10, 1988	CSCA Invitational	Indianapolis, IN, United States
16	22.14		Biondi, MattMatt Biondi	United States	Sep 24, 1988	Olympic Games	Seoul, South Korea
17	22.12		Jager, TomTom Jager	United States	Aug 20, 1989	Pan Pacific Championships	Tokyo, Japan
18	21.98	(sf)	Jager, TomTom Jager	United States	Mar 24, 1990	US Sprint	Nashville, TN, United States
19	21.81		Jager, TomTom Jager	United States	Mar 24, 1990	US Sprint	Nashville, TN, United States
20	21.64	(tt)	Popov, AlexanderAlexander Popov	Russia	Jun 1, 2000	Russian Olympic Trials	Moscow, Russia
21	21.56		Sullivan, EamonEamon Sullivan	Australia	Feb 17, 2008	New South Wales State Championships	Sydney, Australia
22	21.50	(sf2)	Bernard, AlainAlain Bernard	France	Mar 23, 2008	European Championships	Eindhoven, Netherlands
23	21.41	(sf2)	Sullivan, EamonEamon Sullivan	Australia	Mar 27, 2008	Australian Championships & Olympic Trials	Sydney, Australia
24	21.28		Sullivan, EamonEamon Sullivan	Australia	Mar 28, 2008	Australian Championships & Olympic Trials	Sydney, Australia	[3]
25	20.94		Bousquet, FrédérickFrédérick Bousquet	France	Apr 26, 2009	French Championships	Montpellier, France	[4]
26	20.91		Cielo, CésarCésar Cielo	Brazil	Dec 18, 2009	CBDA Open - Brazilian Championships	São Paulo, Brazil	[5]

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

Short course

#	Time		Name	Nationality	Date	Meet	Location	Ref
1	21.64		Crocker, SteveSteve Crocker	United States	21 March 1992	-	Dallas, TX, United States
2	21.60		Foster, MarkMark Foster	Great Britain	17 February 1993	World Cup	Sheffield, United Kingdom
3	21.50		Popov, AlexanderAlexander Popov	Russia	13 March 1994	World Cup	Desenzano del Garda, Italy
4	21.48	h	Foster, MarkMark Foster	Great Britain	13 December 1998	European SC Championships	Sheffield, United Kingdom
5	21.31		Foster, MarkMark Foster	Great Britain	13 December 1998	European SC Championships	Sheffield, United Kingdom
5=	21.31	h	Schoeman, RolandRoland Schoeman	South Africa	23 March 2000	NCAA Men's Division 1 Championships	Minneapolis, MN, United States
6	21.21		Ervin, AnthonyAnthony Ervin	United States	23 March 2000	NCAA Men's Division 1 Championships	Minneapolis, MN, United States
7	21.13		Foster, MarkMark Foster	Great Britain	28 January 2001	World Cup	Paris, France
8	21.10		Bousquet, FrédérickFrédérick Bousquet	France	25 Mar 2004	NCAA Men's Division 1 Championships	East Meadow, NY, United States
9	20.98	h	Schoeman, RolandRoland Schoeman	South Africa	12 Aug 2006	Invitational	Hamburg, Germany
10	20.93		Nystrand, StefanStefan Nystrand	Sweden	18 November 2007	World Cup	Berlin, Germany
11	20.81		Draganja, DujeDuje Draganja	Croatia	11 April 2008	World SC Championships	Manchester, United Kingdom
12	20.64		Schoeman, RolandRoland Schoeman	South Africa	7 September 2008	South African SC Championships	Germiston, South Africa	[6]
13	20.48		Leveaux, AmauryAmaury Leveaux	France	11 December 2008	European SC Championships	Rijeka, Croatia	[7]
14	20.30	sf	Schoeman, RolandRoland Schoeman	South Africa	8 August 2009	South African SC Championships	Pietermaritzburg, South Africa	[8]
15	20.26		Manaudou, FlorentFlorent Manaudou	France	5 December 2014	World Championships	Doha, Qatar	[9]

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

Women

Long course

#	Time		Name	Nationality	Date	Meet	Location	Ref
1	26.99	(r)†	Ender, KorneliaKornelia Ender	East Germany	Jul 26, 1975	World Championships	Cali, Colombia
2	26.95		Malloy, JohannaJohanna Malloy	Canada	Aug 16, 1977	-	St. John's, Antigua and Barbuda
3	26.74		Jardin, AnneAnne Jardin	Canada	Aug 19, 1978	-	Etobicoke, Canada
4	26.61	(h)	Woodhead, CynthiaCynthia Woodhead	United States	Apr 10, 1980	USA Spring Nationals	Austin, TX, United States
5	26.53	(h)	Asplund, KellyKelly Asplund	United States	Apr 10, 1980	USA Spring Nationals	Austin, TX, United States
6	26.32	(h)	Sterkel, JillJill Sterkel	United States	Apr 10, 1980	USA Spring Nationals	Austin, TX, United States
7	25.96		Sterkel, JillJill Sterkel	United States	Apr 10, 1980	USA Spring Nationals	Austin, TX, United States
8	25.79	(tt)	Sterkel, JillJill Sterkel	United States	Apr 3, 1981	Longhorn Invitational	Austin, TX, United States
9	25.69	(h)	Torres, DaraDara Torres	United States	Jan 29, 1983	Speedo International	Amersfoort, Netherlands
10	25.64		Verstappen, AnnemarieAnnemarie Verstappen	Netherlands	Jul 9, 1983	NED Nationals	Amersfoort, Netherlands
11	25.62		Torres, DaraDara Torres	United States	Aug 5, 1983	USA Nationals	Clovis, CA, United States
12	25.61	(r)	Torres, DaraDara Torres	United States	Jul 21, 1984	Pre-Olympic meet	Mission Viejo, CA, United States
13	25.50	(h)	Costache, TamaraTamara Costache	Romania	Jul 16, 1986	ROU Nationals & World Championship Trials	Bucharest, Romania
14	25.34		Costache, TamaraTamara Costache	Romania	Jul 16, 1986	ROU Nationals & World Championship Trials	Bucharest, Romania
15	25.31		Costache, TamaraTamara Costache	Romania	Aug 1, 1986	Balkan Games	Sofia, Bulgaria
16	25.28		Costache, TamaraTamara Costache	Romania	Aug 23, 1986	World Championships	Madrid, Spain
17	24.98		Yang Wenyi	China	Apr 11, 1988	Asian Swimming Championships	Guangzhou, China
18	24.79		Yang Wenyi	China	Jul 31, 1992	Olympic Games	Barcelona, Spain
19	24.51		Le Jingyi	China	Sep 11, 1994	World Championships	Rome, Italy
19=	24.51	(h)	Bruijn, Inge deInge de Bruijn	Netherlands	May 26, 2000	Super Speedo Grand Prix	Sheffield, United Kingdom
20	24.48		Bruijn, Inge deInge de Bruijn	Netherlands	Jun 4, 2000	NED Olympic Trials	Drachten, Netherlands
21	24.39		Bruijn, Inge deInge de Bruijn	Netherlands	Jun 10, 2000	Trofeu Jose Finkel & BRA Olympic Trials	Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
22	24.13	(sf2)	Bruijn, Inge deInge de Bruijn	Netherlands	Sep 22, 2000	Olympic Games	Sydney, Australia
23	24.09		Veldhuis, MarleenMarleen Veldhuis	Netherlands	Mar 24, 2008	European Championships	Eindhoven, Netherlands
24	23.97		Trickett, LibbyLibby Trickett	Australia	Mar 29, 2008	Australian Championships & Olympic Trials	Sydney, Australia	[10]
25	23.96		Veldhuis, MarleenMarleen Veldhuis	Netherlands	19 Apr 2009	Amsterdam Swim Cup	Amsterdam, Netherlands	[11]
26	23.73		Steffen, BrittaBritta Steffen	Germany	2 Aug 2009	World Championships	Rome, Italy

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

Short course

#	Time		Name	Nationality	Date	Meet	Location	Ref
1	24.75		Almsick, Franziska vanFranziska van Almsick	Germany	Nov 4, 1992	-	Schwäbisch Gmünd, Germany
2	24.62	h	Le Jingyi	China	Dec 3, 1993	World SC Championships	Palma de Mallorca, Spain
3	24.23		Le Jingyi	China	Dec 3, 1993	World SC Championships	Palma de Mallorca, Spain
4	24.09		Alshammar, ThereseTherese Alshammar	Sweden	Dec 11, 1999	European SC Championships	Lisbon, Portugal
5	23.59		Alshammar, ThereseTherese Alshammar	Sweden	Mar 18, 2000	World SC Championships	Athens, Greece
6	23.58		Veldhuis, MarleenMarleen Veldhuis	Netherlands	Nov 17, 2007	World Cup	Berlin, Germany
7	23.25		Veldhuis, MarleenMarleen Veldhuis	Netherlands	Apr 13, 2008	World SC Championships	Manchester, United Kingdom	[12]
8	23.24		Kromowidjojo, RanomiRanomi Kromowidjojo	Netherlands	Aug 7, 2013	World Cup	Eindhoven, Netherlands
8	23.24	=	Kromowidjojo, RanomiRanomi Kromowidjojo	Netherlands	Dec 12, 2015	Duel in the Pool	Indianapolis, United States	[13]

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

Notes

1. "Hi-tech suits banned from January". BBC News/BBC Sport. 2009-07-31. Archived from the original on 31 July 2010. Retrieved 11 August 2012.
2. Peter Williams' 1988 time was officially recognised, but not as a world record, because South Africa was banned from international competition at the time. Performance on all time performance list
3. "Sullivan snaps 50m record again". ABC News. 2008-02-28. Retrieved 2008-03-31.
4. Craig Lord (2009-04-26). "Bousquet: 20.94 WR 50 Free". Retrieved 2009-04-26.
5. Lydia Gismondi (2009-12-18). "Cielo: 20.91 WR 50 Free". Retrieved 2009-12-18.
6. "Schoeman breaks 50m freestyle world record". South Africa: The Good News. 2008-09-08. Retrieved 2008-09-21.
7. "Leveaux sets short-course record in 50 freestyle".
8. "South African Short Course Championships: Roland Schoeman Lowers World Record". Swimming World Magazine.
9. "Florent Manaudou Stuns Crowd With Blazing 50 Free World Record at Worlds". Swimming World Magazine. 5 December 2014. Retrieved 6 December 2014.
10. Cowley, Michael (2008-03-30). "Just the Trickett: Libby breaks the speed barrier". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 2008-03-31.
11. "Amsterdam Swim Cup result 50 freestyle women" (PDF). amsterdamswimcup.nl. 2009-04-19. Retrieved 2009-04-19.
12. "WR: Veldhuis 50m Free 23.25". swimnews.com. 2008-04-13. Retrieved 2008-04-20.
13. Lord, Craig (December 12, 2015). "Duel In The Pool Over Before Over: WRS For Grevers, Kromowidjojo; USA Keeps Crown". Swimvortex. Retrieved December 12, 2015.

References

• "Olympic and World Records". IOC. Retrieved 2008-10-29.
• (Dutch) Zwemkroniek
• (Italian) Agenda Diana
• USA Swimming