16 History-Altering Moments in Olympic Swimming You Need to Know

Jared Anderson, Loretta Race, Mitch Bowmile and Braden Keith contributed to this report:

In honor of Olympic day, we’ve compiled 16 of the great moments that have shaped Olympic swimming history, in no particular order:

1. Katie Ledecky stuns the world in London 800 free

Maybe no race from the 2012 London Olympics will be quite as historically iconic as the women’s 800 free, as it signaled the official rise of greatest distance swimmer in history. Then-15-year-old Katie Ledecky was a bit of a surprise to even make the Olympic team, and she had to drop 6 whole seconds off her previous lifetime-best to do it. Ledecky was four seconds slower in prelims of the 800 in London, an understandable gain for a teenager facing her first time in the glare of the Olympic spotlight. But seemingly out of nowhere, Ledecky exploded to win the final, crushing a veteran field and coming within six tenths of a second of the world record. Ledecky dropped five more full seconds off her lifetime-best in winning that race. Read that sentence two or three more times, just to let it sink in. That explosion launched the career of perhaps the most exciting active swimmer in the world right now, and for Ledecky, the hits just keep on coming. -JA

2. Michael Phelps completes 8-for-8 gold medal run in Beijing

Obviously, Michael Phelps could have about a million entries on this list. In the interest of spreading things around, we’ll choose to focus on this feat, which will very likely be the defining moment of his career for the rest of time. Phelps was never one to publicly declare his goals, but even by the 2004 Athens Olympics, hardcore swimming fans had realized that the American had his sights set on breaking Mark Spitz‘s record for medals in a single Olympics. When we finally saw Phelps selected events at the U.S. Olympic Trials in 2012, it became crystal clear that Phelps had even more on his mind: a seemingly-impossible 8-for-8 run on gold medals in one single Olympics. There were moments it seemed impossible – we’ll touch on the biggest one in an entry below (hint: it involves a dude named Jason Lezak), but there was also the 200 fly, in which Phelps goggles filled up with water, and the 100 fly, where Serbia’s Milorad Cavic had Phelps clearly beat to the wall before a miracle of a finishing lunge by Phelps. But on the last day of competition, Phelps split a field-best 50.15 on the fly leg of the 4×100 medley relay, then watched as Lezak anchored the win, earning Phelps his record 8th gold medal. It’s a feat that perhaps won’t ever be forgotten, one of the most revered accomplishments of any athlete in any sport in history. -JA

3. Mark Spitz And The 1972 Olympic Games

As soon as the United States took gold in the 4x100m medley relay at the 1972 Olympic Games, Mark Spitz was solidified as arguably the best athlete in Olympic history. With that win, Spitz claimed his seventh gold and his seventh world record, becoming the first athlete to ever win seven gold medals at one Olympic Games. Spitz held commanding leads in the fly and showed the true domination for the Americans at the Munich Games. Originally, Spitz was going to go for just six golds at the games. Spitz was very much the dark horse in the 100m freestyle, and by all odds it looked as though he was not likely to win. In a famous pool-deck interview with ABC news, Spitz said, “I know I say I don’t want to swim before every event, but this time I’m serious. If I swim six and win six, I’ll be a hero. If I swim seven and win six, I’ll be a failure.”

Spitz went on to claim gold in the 100m freestyle with a new world record time of 51.22. Jerry Heidenreich of the United States finished second to Spitz despite being one of the favorites heading into the race. After that, Spitz had six golds and six world records, and the 4x100m medley relay on the next day of competition seemed like a lock for both Spitz and the Americans.

His victory was not long-lived as a tragic event unfolded the day after Spitz won his seventh gold: the Munich Massacre. A Palestinian terrorist group known as Black September took 11 Israeli Olympic team members hostage. Many feared that Spitz, who was now an Olympic icon, could be a potential target due to his Jewish heritage and connection with Israel. Spitz had competed previously in the Maccabiah Games in Tel Aviv.

The event unfolded without any harm to Spitz, however an unsuccessful attempt to save the hostages left all 11 Israeli athletes dead, along with a German police officer. Police managed to kill five of the eight terrorists during the failed rescue attempt. Because of both stories of success and tragedy at the 1972 Olympic Games, they will always go down in history as one of the most monumental to both sport and humanity. -MB

4. The First Swimming Olympic Gold Medal Ever

The first modern Olympic Games held in 1896 gave way to the first Olympic Champions of the modern era. In swimming, the first Olympic champion of all time was Alfred Hajos of Hungary. Hajos won the 100m freestyle and the 1200m freestyle on the same day, becoming the most dominant force in swimming prior to the turn of the century.

Back then there were only four swimming races: the 100m freestyle, the 500m freestyle, the 1200m freestyle, and the sailors 100m freestyle. The latter of the four events was only available for Greek sailors.

All the events were held in Open Water and done on the same day, which is one of the reasons Hajos wasn’t able to fight for gold in the 500 freestyle as well. Without enough time to recuperate for all three events, he only swam two of them. – MB

5. First Women’s Swimming Gold Medal Ever

The 1912 Olympic Games were the first Olympics where women’s events were added to the swimming program. There were only two initial events: the 100m freestyle and the 4x100m freestyle relay. On Monday July 8, 1912, 27 women from eight different countries fought for the first individual gold medal. Fanny Durack, representing Australasia (a combined team of athletes from Australia and New Zealand), set a new world record of 1:19.8 in the heats of the 100m freestyle before advancing to the final and being crowned the first ever women’s swimming Olympic champion. In the late 1910s Durack would go on to hold every single world record in women’s swimming from the 100m freestyle to the one-mile freestyle. A few days after the 100m freestyle final, the British women claimed the first ever relay gold with a world record time of 5:52.8 in the 400 freestyle relay. – MB

6. Kristin Otto Grabs Six Golds In Seoul

While Matt Biondi was raking up gold medals on the men’s side at the 1988 Olympic games in Seoul, South Korea, Kristin Otto of East Germany was doing the same on the women’s side. At the conclusion of the games, she became the first female swimmer to ever win six gold medals at one edition of the Olympic Games. She won four individual events, and claimed gold in both the 400 freestyle and medley relays. Although her performance was outstanding, it doesn’t come without controversy. East Germany was known for their doping scandals during that period. Otto claims that she didn’t knowingly dope, however it’s widely accepted that she likely was on some sort of performance enhancing drugs during her stellar Olympic run. – MB

7. The First Olympic Champion In The 50m Freestyle

The 50m freestyle, which has been the pinnacle of pure speed for some time now, wasn’t added to the Olympic schedule until 1988. Swimming was a lot more modernized by that point, and there were multiple sprint-stars who had the ability to be crowned the first men’s 50m freestyle champion. Matt Biondi of the United States was one of the biggest names in swimming at the time, and was able to get the job done in Seoul where he swam a world record of 22.14 to claim gold. Tom Jager of the United States was behind him in 22.36. Biondi went on to win five events at the 1988 Olympic games. He also went on to take home a silver and a bronze. Starting with Biondi’s win, the Americans have won four out of eight Olympic 50m freestyles. In seven out of eight Olympics, there has been an American swimmer on the podium. – MB

8. Jason Lezak The Relay King

Relays have been an important part of swimming culture for decades, and quite possibly no man has earned more fame for relay performances than American sprinter Jason Lezak. From 1999 until 2012, Lezak played an important role on several American relays. At the 2000 Olympic Games, Lezak ate up a huge lead on the third leg of the 4x100m freestyle relay to get the Americans within striking distance of the Australians with one leg to go. Although, the Americans eventually finished second, it was the start of a great Olympic career for Lezak. In 2000, Lezak claimed one more gold swimming the prelims for the winning 4x100m medley relay.

In Athens, Lezak once again had to settle for less than gold on the 4×100 freestyle relay. Despite putting up the second fastest relay split of the event (behind only the legendary 46.79 split that Pieter van den Hoogenband swam), the Americans finished third behind both the South Africans and the Netherlands. Once again Lezak helped the Americans win the 400 medley relay, although this time he was the anchor in the final, splitting a 47.58 to lock in the world record performance.

When Beijing rolled around, Lezak was tired of losing the freestyle relay. The French were heavy favorites to win, and Michael Phelps’ gold medal run was at stake here if the Americans couldn’t pull off a stunner. After Phelps swam the first leg in a new American record of 47.51, the Americans were in second behind the Australians. At the halfway point, Garrett Weber-Gale touched ahead of both the Australians and the French to give the Americans the lead. On the third leg, Cullen Jones was passed by French swimmer Frederick Bousquet, who threw down the fastest freestyle split in history at the time with a 46.63. With 100 meters to go, The Americans were behind, and Lezak had to chase the former 100 free world record holder Alain Bernard. (Eamon Sullivan had just broken the Bernard’s record in the same race, on his lead-off for Australia). Diving in around a half-second behind, Lezak had his work cut out for him to even make things close. At the 50, it looked like her would never catch Bernard. With 25 meters to go, Bernard started tightening up and Lezak began to ride his wake, inching up on him. At the touch it was too close to call, but a quick look at the scoreboard gave proof that the Americans had won with a world record time, Michael Phelps’ gold medal run was still alive, and Jason Lezak had just split the fastest 100m freestyle split in history with an unbelievable 46.06. – MB

9. Amanda Beard & Harold the Teddy Bear

At the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta, while just 14 years old, Amanda Beard became the second-youngest swimmer in American history to win an Olympic medal, earning a gold as part of the women’s 400 medley relay, as well as two individual silvers in the 100 and 200 breaststroke events.  However, ask any fan who watched the 1996 swimming competition on TV and almost all would most likely point to Beard’s iconic teddy bear as the most memorable facet of her performance.  Again, just 14 years old on the world’s biggest sporting stage, Beard, and subsequently fans, took comfort in the beloved teddy bear named Harold she held in her arms while walking out to the blocks, as well as on to the podium. -LR

10. American sweep of men’s golds at 1948 London Olympics

In 1948, the U.S. National Team would cross the Atlantic to accomplish a rare Olympic feat in London, England. The U.S. men would go undefeated, sweeping all the gold medals and a majority of the silvers. In those days, there were only 6 Olympic events in swimming, a much different lineup than the 16 pool events currently on the slate. But a group of 6 different American men would combine to sweep the golds, with 5 different individuals winning each individual event. Wally Ris, Bill Smith, Jimmy McLane, Allen Stack, Joe Verdeur and Wally Wolf each topped the podium at some point, with the 800 free relay breaking a world record to punctuate one of the most dominant Olympic performances in history. -JA

11. The Little Mouse, Krisztina Egerszegi, becomes youngest Olympic champ in 1988

In 1988, Hungarian 14-year-old Krisztina Egerszegi made history by winning the 200 backstroke. That made her the youngest Olympic champion in swimming history at the time. Her victory was a high-water moment for Hungary as a whole, and would launch her to one of the most successful Olympic careers of all-time. To this day, she is one of just three swimmers to win the same event at three consecutive Olympic Games, joining the legendary Aussie Dawn Fraser. American Michael Phelps would eventually join that list as well. But the annoucer’s call of Egerszegi’s 1988 win would become an iconic moment in Hungarian history, with the nation’s television commentator urging on Egerszegi (nicknamed “the little mouse” due to her youth, size and a phonetic similarity between her name and the Hungarian word for mouse) by saying “Come on Little Mouse! Come on little girl!” as the youngster closed her championship race. The fire for swimming within Hungary obviously hasn’t subsided; to this day, Katinka Hosszu and Daniel Gyurta are among the nation’s biggest celebrities. -JA

12. East German women, U.S. men nearly sweep gold medals at 1976 Olympics

The 1976 Montreal Olympics were about as lopsided as Olympic swimming ever gets. On the women’s side, East Germany came within two races of sweeping every single gold medal in the pool. And on the men’s side, the U.S. one-upped East Germany, coming within a single race of their own gold sweep. In addition, the Games were an absolute massacre of the world record books, the likes of which we wouldn’t see again until the era of the super-suits in the 2000s. In all, 12 of 13 world records fell on the men’s side, and 9 of 13 for the women. -JA

13. U.S. sweeps all six 100 free medals at 1924 Games

In 1924, the United States put on a sprinting clinic at the Olympic Games in Paris, France. The Americans swept the gold, silver and bronze medals in both the men’s and women’s 100 freestyles – the premier sprint event in the sport in the days before the 50 was added. This was also before nations were limited to two entries per event, and it’s Olympic performances like these that remind us why “two per country” rules were eventually enacted. Interestingly, among the medalists were some future celebrities outside of the pool. Men’s gold medalist Johnny Weissmuller would go on to play Tarzan in various films, and silver medalist Duke Kahanamoku would also act professionally. Women’s bronze medalist Gertrude Ederle would eventually become the first woman in history to swim across the English Channel. -JA

14. Shane Gould’s Crazy Range

Nowadays, making a major Olympic team in both a 200 and a 1500 is considered impressive range. But in the early-1970s, Australia’s Shane Gould completed a rangy accomplishment unparalleled in the 40-plus years since. Gould simultaneously held the 100, 200, 400, 800 and 1500 freestyle world records. She held all those records for about 9 months, and included in that span was the 1972 Munich Olympics in which she won three gold medals. And if that wasn’t enough, Gould threw in the 200 IM world record too. You know, just for good measure. -JA

15. Kosuke Kitajima and the evolution of the breaststroke pullout

One of the greatest breaststrokers in history, Japan’s Kosuke Kitajima had an impact on the stroke we’re still feeling more than a decade after his first Olympic gold. In 2004, Kitajima showed up at the Athens Olympic Games with a new and controversial technique: a short, snappy dolphin kick done during the underwater pullout on breaststroke. The dolphin kick, combined with Kitajima’s immense talent, earned him Olympic gold and eventually a world record, but it also set off a scramble within the stroke, as FINA would eventually legalize the kick and then further tweak underwater pullout rules, a process that is still ongoing. (Seriously, check out the pullout that caused so much uproar in 2004.) -JA

16. The birth of butterfly

Prior to 1933, there were only three competitive strokes, with butterfly yet to be invented. The stroke started as a variant of breaststroke, one that flitted back and forth between legality and illegality until FINA broke it off into its own event in 1952. But the first-ever Olympic gold medals in butterfly didn’t come until the 1956 Melbourne Games. Americans swept the two medals as William Yorzk won the men’s 200 fly and Shelley Mann the 100, and from then on, the stroke that now torments so many age groupers was forever a part of Olympic swimming lore. -JA