World Aquatics has redefined the landscape of competitive swimming, smashing a historic record with its unprecedented $7.1 million prize pool for athletes. This remarkable announcement marks a huge step in the sport’s new view of its players, which includes recognizing their extraordinary commitment and performances. For swimming, this milestone is not just a rise in the number—it’s about rewriting the narrative worldwide.

This record-breaking payout is making waves, with athletes like Noe Ponti and Kate Douglass at the forefront of swimming’s transformation. World Aquatics posted about the record-breaking payouts on their official X account with the caption, “A record $7.1M was paid to swimmers in 2024—the highest in 116 years!” It is all about the top 10 male and female swimmers with their prize money. American swimmer Kate Douglass topped the female category with $343k in prize money (even all over), and Switzerland’s Noe Ponti topped the male with $277k. A total of 5 USA swimmers are in the top 20: Regan Smith ranked second with $285k prize money, Gretchen Walsh $275k, and Leon Marchand of France will be provided with $174k.

In the Swimming World Championship 2024, both male and female competitors had a chance to win good money—$112,000 per event. That’s not all; the prize money was also given as per the ranking of the swimmers, for example—$100,000 for the first rank holder. If that was not enough, each Triple Crown winner could snag an extra $10,000, and for the world record breaker, a guaranteed $10,000.

Swimming stars like Katie Ledecky, Torri Huske, and Regan Smith have proved their worth during the 2024 Olympics. Katie Ledecky earned approx. $250k, Torri Huske got $261k (around), and Gretchen Walsh earned $161,875.00, among others. The numbers are different for relays; for example, if someone has earned a total of $25k, then $22k is for silver from the standard fund and an additional $3k is for being a member of the relay race. (Standard fund—directly paid by USOPC, and enhanced funds paid by USA Swimming’s budget. As of 2024, Katie Ledecky’s net worth is estimated to be around $5 million. Hence, the earnings of an athlete play many roles to enhance the value of that sport as well as the athlete.

In 2024, a total of 319 swimmers earned $7.1 million at World Aquatics events. Aquatics athletes earned $11.1 million at World Aquatics events in 2024—the most in 116 years of history. These figures reflect the swimming’s continued growth and the organization’s pledge to reinvest in athletes.

A new era for swimming as a sport

With more money than ever before flowing back into the aquatics community, World Aquatics is transforming the future of the sport. The introduction of grants and financial incentives marks a transformative phase for swimming as a sport. If great performance can lead to great earnings, then what’s better than that?

Noe Ponti won the men’s 100 m individual medley in the World Aquatics Swimming Championships (25 m) – Budapest 2024. After that, Ponti jokingly said that big performances at World Aquatics events can lead to big paydays. USA’s Gretchen Walsh also won gold in the Women’s 100m Individual Medley with a world record time—it was her sixth world record at that time of the championships. What’s Walsh’s take on prize money?

USA record-breaker Gretchen Walsh said, ‘I’m really happy (World Aquatics) is giving back to the community, letting swimmers achieve their dreams… Whether we like it or not, prize money is totally an incentive to make people go fast. The sport is growing. I’m happy to be a part of that growth.” With the help of monetary support, an athlete can work towards their goal and also inspire young athletes to do better and equip their training facilities, hire expert coaches, and much more.

Reflecting on swimming’s increasing global visibility and the impact of prize money, swimmer Jordan Crooks once said, “Swimming as a sport is definitely growing. Everyone knows who Michael Phelps is, but it’s slowly becoming one of those sports where people who know nothing about swimming recognize the names. The financial aspect definitely helps, providing athletes with more incentive.” This historic ruling is expected to motivate athletes, raise the bar for competition, and draw in more international talent than ever before as the sport prepares for the Olympics and other important events. Aquatics seems set for extraordinary growth in the future, while younger athletes are pushing their limits to perform better.