Which Is the Oldest Olympic Record in Swimming History?

At the onset of the 2024 Paris Olympics, many records are on the brink of owning. Among those, swimming shares a hefty number of records that remain undisturbed. But in the wake of Leon Marchand, Chase Kalisz, Katie Ledecky, or Kate Douglass, the Paris event might etch in the history of records as a prominent one. Katie Ledecky has already proved to be potent in setting records as the First Lady of Freestyle in the Olympics. On the other side, Leon Marchand has won his coach’s blessing to win over Michael Phelps.

In the Olympics record book, Baltimore Bullet has a unique status. Michael Phelps shared the stage as a part of a unique team whose record remains unconquered, even after 15 years.

The Michael Phelps starer unbowed Olympics record 

Michael Phelps holds several Olympic swimming records. But the oldest ones are not the individual ones but the ones set as a part of the relay team in the 100m and 200m free. Among those, the 4x100m free relay stands distinctly as it has been surviving for 5601 days. In the 2008 Beijing Olympics, Michael Phelps paired with Garrett Weber-Gale, Jason Lezak, and Cullen Jones to clock 3:08.24 to clinch the title. 

Apart from that, the crown of remaining untouched title would have gone to Phelps’s 400m IM record set in the same Olympics. But reigning world champion, Leon Marchand usurped that record in Fukuoka World Championship this year after a whopping 7642 days. In close vicinity, may appear the 4x200m free relay that earned the gold medal to Michael Phelps and his pack at the 2009 World Championships in Italy. It has been standing to the challenge of time for 5247 days. However, the same team from 2009 also showcased a swimmer who still holds his swimming record since 2011.

Some still defended individual swimming records 

Ryan Lochte was an important member of the 2009 world champion USA team. Later, in the 2011 Shanghai World Championship, Lochte set a 200m IM record that is still unbeaten. The same goes for the 200m butterfly record in the women’s event of the Chinese National Games. The coveted record of Zige Liu was set in 2009 and remains unreached. 

Read more: “Don’t Have Much Time”: Michael Phelps’ Media Trainers Had Specific Answers Planned for Questions That Made Him Uncomfortable During Press Conferences

However, Paul Biedermann’s 400m free record in the 2009 World Championship can beat both the aforementioned records in the longevity scale. In the same tournament, Paul Biedermann’s 200m free is also yet to be breached. However, as they say, “records are made to be broken”, these records might also face the ultimatum of the time soon.

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