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Caeleb Dressel’s $110K Leads Individual Prize Money-Winners At 2019 Worlds

2019 FINA WORLD AQUATICS CHAMPIONSHIPS – SWIMMING

  • All sports: Friday, July 12 – Sunday, July 28, 2019
  • Pool swimming: Sunday, July 21 – Sunday, July 28, 2019
  • The Nambu University Municipal Aquatics Center, Gwangju, Korea
  • Meet site
  • Results

Per our calculations, Caeleb Dressel leads all individual money-earners with $110,000 in prize money from the 2019 World Championships.

We calculated our totals based on FINA’s listed prize money for the event.We’ll do a quick refresher below, but the full system is listed out here.

2019 World Champs Prize Money

  • Top 8 finishers in each event earn prize money:
    • 1st: $20,000
    • 2nd: $15,000
    • 3rd: $10,000
    • 4th: $6,000
    • 5th: $5,000
    • 6th: $4,000
    • 7th: $3,000
    • 8th: $2,000
  • World records: $30,000 each

A few notes about the list below:

  • We calculated these out manually, and though we tried to account for all ties, there may be mistakes somewhere in the data. If you see something that looks off, let us know.
  • When ties occurred, we followed the typical rules: if swimmers tied for second, we add up the prize money for 2nd and 3rd and split the total between the two tied swimmers.
  • We didn’t include relay prizes, as it’s hard to judge how federations will split the money between finals swimmers, prelims-only swimmers or others.
  • We also didn’t include relay world record bonuses. Only individual events are included in our tally.
  • As always, this list only tracks money earned, not necessarily money accepted. Amateur athletes have restrictions on how much prize money they can accept.

2019 World Championships Prize Money List – Pool Swimming

Note: pool athletes who also competed in open water swimming would have additional prize money.

Rank Name Nation Total Prize Money Total Prize Events World Record Bonuses
1 Dressel, Caeleb United States $110,000 4 $30,000
2 Smith, Regan United States $80,000 1 $60,000
3 Sjoestroem, Sarah Sweden $70,000 5
3 Peaty, Adam Great Britain $70,000 2 $30,000
5 Milak, Kristof Hungary $56,000 2 $30,000
6 Seto, Daiya Japan $55,000 3
7 Chupkov, Anton Russian Federation $52,000 2 $30,000
8 Rylov, Evgeny Russian Federation $50,000 3
9 Efimova, Yuliya Russian Federation $45,000 3
9 Titmus, Ariarne Australia $45,000 3
9 Wilson, Matthew Australia $45,000 1 $30,000
12 Sun, Yang China $44,000 3
13 Hosszu, Katinka Hungary $42,000 3
14 King, Lilly United States $40,000 2
14 Manuel, Simone United States $40,000 2
16 Ye, Shiwen China $36,000 3
17 Ledecky, Katie United States $35,000 2
17 Quadarella, Simona Italy $35,000 2
19 Masse, Kylie Canada $30,000 2
19 Paltrinieri, Gregorio Italy $30,000 2
19 Smoliga, Olivia United States $30,000 2
22 Murphy, Ryan United States $27,000 3
23 Pickrem, Sydney Canada $26,000 3
24 Mckeown, Kaylee Australia $25,500 3
25 Campbell, Cate Australia $25,000 2
26 Kapas, Boglarka Hungary $24,000 2
26 Xu, Jiayu China $24,000 2
28 Kohler, Sarah Germany $21,000 2
29 Christiansen, Henrik Norway $20,000 2
29 Le Clos, Chad South Africa $20,000 2
29 Macneil, Margaret Canada $20,000 1
29 Pellegrini, Federica Italy $20,000 1
29 Waddell, Zane South Africa $20,000 1
29 Wellbrock, Florian Germany $20,000 1
35 Wang, Jianjiahe China $19,000 3
35 Atherton, Minna Australia $19,000 2
35 Kromowidjojo, Ranomi Netherlands $19,000 2
35 Schoenmaker, Tatjana South Africa $19,000 2
39 Andrew, Michael United States $18,000 4
40 Romanchuk, Mykhailo Ukraine $17,000 2
41 Ruck, Taylor Canada $16,000 3
41 Aubry, David France $16,000 2
41 Mckeon, Emma Australia $16,000 2
44 Carraro, Martina Italy $15,000 2
44 Detti, Gabriele Italy $15,000 2
44 Smith, Leah United States $15,000 2
44 Chalmers, Kyle Australia $15,000 1
44 Desplanches, Jeremy Switzerland $15,000 1
44 Flickinger, Hali United States $15,000 1
44 Horton, Mack Australia $15,000 1
44 Kostin, Oleg Russian Federation $15,000 1
44 Lima, Felipe Brazil $15,000 1
44 Litherland, Jay United States $15,000 1
44 Matsumoto, Katsuhiro Japan $15,000 1
44 Medeiros, Etiene Brazil $15,000 1
44 Minakov, Andrei Russian Federation $15,000 1
44 Pilato, Benedetta Italy $15,000 1
44 Wilby, James Great Britain $15,000 1
59 Yan, Zibei China $14,000 2
60 Larkin, Mitchell Australia $13,000 2
60 Scott, Duncan Great Britain $13,000 2
62 Fratus, Bruno Brazil $12,500 1
62 Gkolomeev, Kristian Greece $12,500 1
64 Vaskina, Daria Russian Federation $12,000 2
65 Prigoda, Kirill Russian Federation $11,000 2
66 Dahlia, Kelsi United States $10,000 2
66 Kesely, Ajna Hungary $10,000 2
66 Mcloughlin, Jack Australia $10,000 2
66 Clareburt, Lewis New Zealand $10,000 1
66 Drabot, Katie United States $10,000 1
66 Gomes Junior, Joao Brazil $10,000 1
66 Greenbank, Luke Great Britain $10,000 1
66 Grinev, Vladislav Russian Federation $10,000 1
66 Kalisz, Chase United States $10,000 1
66 Kolesnikov, Kliment Russian Federation $10,000 1
66 Ohashi, Yui Japan $10,000 1
66 Osman, Farida Egypt $10,000 1
66 Santos, Nicholas Brazil $10,000 1
66 Watanabe, Ippei Japan $10,000 1
80 Irie, Ryosuke Japan $9,000 2
81 Oleksiak, Penny Canada $8,000 2
81 Proud, Benjamin Great Britain $8,000 2
81 Renshaw, Molly Great Britain $8,000 2
81 Wilson, Andrew United States $8,000 2
81 Malyutin, Martin Russian Federation $8,000 1
86 Baker, Kathleen United States $7,500 2
87 Throssell, Brianna Australia $7,000 2
87 Wattel, Marie France $7,000 2
89 Balandin, Dmitriy Kazakhstan $6,000 2
89 Frolov, Sergii Ukraine $6,000 2
89 Melverton, Kiah Australia $6,000 2
89 Aoki, Reona Japan $6,000 1
89 Atkinson, Alia Jamaica $6,000 1
89 Blume, Pernille Denmark $6,000 1
89 Burdisso, Federico Italy $6,000 1
89 Di Liddo, Elena Italy $6,000 1
89 Haughey, Siobhan Hong Kong, China $6,000 1
89 Heintz, Philip Germany $6,000 1
89 Hentke, Franziska Germany $6,000 1
89 Kawecki, Radoslaw Poland $6,000 1
89 Koseki, Yasuhiro Japan $6,000 1
89 Morozov, Vladimir Russian Federation $6,000 1
89 Panziera, Margherita Italy $6,000 1
89 Pieroni, Blake United States $6,000 1
89 Pons, Joanllu Spain $6,000 1
89 Rapsys, Danas Lithuania $6,000 1
89 Stubblety-cook, Zac Australia $6,000 1
89 Twichell, Ashley United States $6,000 1
89 Margalis, Melanie United States $6,000 1
110 Davies, Georgia Great Britain $5,500 1
111 Glinta, Robert Romania $5,000 2
111 Bernek, Peter Hungary $5,000 1
111 Chierighini, Marcelo Brazil $5,000 1
111 De Tullio, Marco Italy $5,000 1
111 Gough, Maddy Australia $5,000 1
111 Grevers, Matt United States $5,000 1
111 Kameneva, Mariia Russian Federation $5,000 1
111 Kesyl, Denys Ukraine $5,000 1
111 Koch, Marco Germany $5,000 1
111 Megli, Filippo Italy $5,000 1
111 Metella, Mehdy France $5,000 1
111 Overholt, Emily Canada $5,000 1
111 Shymanovich, Ilya Belarus $5,000 1
111 Szabo, Szebasztian Hungary $5,000 1
111 Thomas, Alys Great Britain $5,000 1
111 Yang, Junxuan China $5,000 1
111 Yu, Jingyao China $5,000 1
111 Omoto, Rika Japan $5,000 1
129 Belmonte, Mireia Spain $4,000 2
129 Acerenza, Domenico Italy $4,000 1
129 Govorov, Andrii Ukraine $4,000 1
129 Hansen, Jessica Australia $4,000 1
129 Harting, Zach United States $4,000 1
129 Heemskerk, Femke Netherlands $4,000 1
129 Lewis, Clyde Australia $4,000 1
129 Mchugh, Ally United States $4,000 1
129 Nemeth, Nandor Hungary $4,000 1
129 Pebley, Jacob United States $4,000 1
129 Shemberev, Maksym Azerbaijan $4,000 1
129 Szilagyi, Liliana Hungary $4,000 1
129 Temple, Matthew Australia $4,000 1
129 Wang, Shun China $4,000 1
129 Wog, Kelsey Lauren Canada $4,000 1
129 Kim, Seoyeong Republic of Korea $4,000 1
145 Sakai, Natsumi Japan $3,500 1
146 Bonnet, Charlotte France $3,000 1
146 Burian, Katalin Hungary $3,000 1
146 Chimrova, Svetlana Russian Federation $3,000 1
146 Comerford, Mallory United States $3,000 1
146 De Deus, Leonardo Brazil $3,000 1
146 Egorova, Anna Russian Federation $3,000 1
146 Elendt, Anna Germany $3,000 1
146 Guido, Guilherme Brazil $3,000 1
146 Guy, James Great Britain $3,000 1
146 Hansson, Louise Sweden $3,000 1
146 Hopkin, Anna Great Britain $3,000 1
146 Jakabos, Zsuzsanna Hungary $3,000 1
146 Ji, Xinjie China $3,000 1
146 Juraszek, Pawe Poland $3,000 1
146 Kozma, Dominik Hungary $3,000 1
146 Lecluyse, Fanny Belgium $3,000 1
146 Litchfield, Max Great Britain $3,000 1
146 Mignon, Clement France $3,000 1
146 Ottesen, Jeanette Denmark $3,000 1
146 Pilhatsch, Caroline Austria $3,000 1
146 Telegdy, Adam Hungary $3,000 1
146 O’Connor, Siobhan Great Britain $3,000 1
168 Anderson, Freya Great Britain $2,000 1
168 Andrusenko, Veronika Russian Federation $2,000 1
168 Campbell, Bronte Australia $2,000 1
168 Castiglioni, Arianna Italy $2,000 1
168 Christou, Apostolos Greece $2,000 1
168 Corbett, Kaylene South Africa $2,000 1
168 Correia, Breno Brazil $2,000 1
168 Devine, Abrahm United States $2,000 1
168 Grothe, Zane United States $2,000 1
168 Hulkko, Ida Finland $2,000 1
168 Kenderesi, Tamas Hungary $2,000 1
168 Knipping, Arjan Netherlands $2,000 1
168 Kusch, Marius Germany $2,000 1
168 Lesaffre, Fantine France $2,000 1
168 Norgaard, Alexander Denmark $2,000 1
168 Persson, Erik Sweden $2,000 1
168 Shioura, Shinri Japan $2,000 1
168 Shirai, Rio Japan $2,000 1
168 Stephens, Laura Great Britain $2,000 1
168 Thormeyer, Markus Canada $2,000 1
168 Toussaint, Kira Netherlands $2,000 1
168 Zhilkin, Andrey Russian Federation $2,000 1

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Fina....
5 years ago

This is buls… Caleb made too little money… Fina Needs to start paying more to atheletes. Amoumt of medals and wrs caleb made he should have make MINIMUM 1-2million of dollar.

mcgillrocks
5 years ago

Does USA Swimming provide additional prize money for professional athletes?

Superfan
Reply to  mcgillrocks
5 years ago

Yes alot

mcgillrocks
Reply to  Superfan
5 years ago

How much exactly is a lot?

I think the USOC provides $7500 / gold medal, and I found USA Swimming provides $75,000 for Olympic gold. Not sure what a world title gets you though. Probably around $25,000.

So between those programs, Dressel got 4x(25000 + 7500) = $130,000 probably. This is very speculative because I don’t have all the sources, but doubling his earnings is a nice boost. With the relays he may even clear $300,000.

E Gamble
5 years ago

Gainsville Florida’s cost of living is extremely low. Caeleb is Gainsville rich. Lol. Well deserved.💪

Ol' Longhorn
Reply to  E Gamble
5 years ago

Definitely need to check out the Gainesville Sun’s front page mugshot section. Takes “Florida Man” to a whole new level.

JJ Graham
5 years ago

Can they withhold “Sun, Yang China $44,000” until he passes a drug test?

Bevo
5 years ago

It’s time for more American business’s to step up, give some full time salaries for flex-time schedules and let’s get some real commitments for our team. These amounts, compared to other pro athletes tell us that we need a different approach. Let’s get our men and women after 4 full NCAA years and get them some great jobs at top US 🇺🇸 companies and watch them deliver…..

Superfan
Reply to  Bevo
5 years ago

It is hard for big sponsors to get excited every year when the swimmers publicly say when they don’t swim fast, that only the Olympics every 4 years counts. Some even say that before they swam!

Moneu
5 years ago

Rip Dressel, 0.18s away from another $60k. Must be the most expensive 0.18s ever

Eagleswim
Reply to  Moneu
5 years ago

I mean the most obvious refute is NASCAR

m1tchplease
5 years ago

Dressel wins $110k for swimming some of the fastest times ever (not to mention breaking a legendary world record) and dominating the international stage for Team USA while a 16-year-old kid wins $3 million because he beat some other kids in a video game about building stuff. Huh. What a world we live in. Seeing that, what are kids going to want to do more? :/

Swimming4silver
Reply to  m1tchplease
5 years ago

sadly, that’s capitalism. that game has made tons of money in the last two years…

Swimmer
Reply to  m1tchplease
5 years ago

Honestly, I would rather be multiple world champion in swimming than a world champion in a video game. I would still choose to be a swimmer and send my kids to swimming any day. Nothing can replace what you learn in this sport and how it builds your character. Money isn’t everything

m1tchplease
Reply to  Swimmer
5 years ago

Oh, I completely agree! What he did is frankly unbelievable. I mean I use the skills learned from swimming daily in my personal and professional lives. It’s just when a little kid or teenager sees those monetary comparisons, it’s difficult to argue which one is more lucrative. I suppose Fortnite will be more short term though. That won’t stick around for the next 10 (hell, probably 5) years.

Not to say that the winner of that Fortnite competition didn’t grind to get to the level of skill he plays at (which is really crazy you’ve watched it at all), but I mean I would certainly argue swimming is a much healthier hobby to get into that will teach you… Read more »

mcgillrocks
Reply to  m1tchplease
5 years ago

I understand the economics behind it and everything, and I don’t expect that swimmers will consistently make $30 million/year in the near future.

That being said, it does feel low. I feel like a legendary performance at the biggest stage like Dressel’s should be worth at least 400k — 1/5 of what the winner of 1 out of 4 majors in golf gets.

What would it take: maybe $60,000 per gold, $60,000 per WR, $20,000 per Championship record etc. That would put Dressel at 4×60000 + 60000 + 3×20000 = 360,000 + relays. Two golds and two silvers should be at least 30000 more, which puts us in the ball park.

Niall
5 years ago

Why would Anna Hopkin get more than Freya Anderson if both made 1 final and 1 semi final individually, both swam in the medley relay but Anderson got a medal in the mixed medley where Hopkin was uninvolved? Does anyone understand and can explain?

KeithM
Reply to  Niall
5 years ago

The third arrowed note underneath the article explains why they didn’t include relays in the calculations. So Anna finished ahead of Anderson because she finished 7th in a final compared to 8th for Freya.

Niall
Reply to  KeithM
5 years ago

Thank you

About Jared Anderson

Jared Anderson

Jared Anderson swam for nearly twenty years. Then, Jared Anderson stopped swimming and started writing about swimming. He's not sick of swimming yet. Swimming might be sick of him, though. Jared was a YMCA and high school swimmer in northern Minnesota, and spent his college years swimming breaststroke and occasionally pretending …

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