Should Swimming Keep Separate Indoor and Outdoor World Records?

There are a lot of similarities between swimming and track, but one major difference is their record keeping. Where swimming maintains only one list of world records, track keeps two: one for indoor marks and one for outdoor.

Part of that difference is in the course. Track & field has recently rebranded their “indoor” track as “short-track,” because it’s a shorter 200-meter, highly-banked track, as compared to the traditional Olympic 400 meter track. But the elements matter too. Track & field meticulously tracks the wind at the start of events, report that wind with results, and won’t take a record if an athlete has too much of a wind advantage.

So, what would the World Aquatics record book look like if swimming had indoor and outdoor world records separated?

One of the major changes is that it would put an end to some of the controversy around Sarah Sjostrom‘s 50 fly record. Since she lowered the record to 24.43 in 2014, there’s been a lot of discussion among swim fans about whether the wind-aided her performance. Separating indoor and outdoor records wouldn’t totally negate the discussion, but it would create a distinction between records set in a controlled environment versus those set where outside factors play a role. In line with that, it’s important to note that these outside factors can hurt as much as they can help.

Credit for this thought exercise goes to @Parker_Ament on Twitter, who also compiled the men’s indoor and outdoor world records. We also just saw Regan Smith set a new American Record in the women’s 200 fly outdoors, which, despite being one of the fastest swims in history, would still not stand up as the outdoor world record.

Below is the indoor vs. outdoor world record table. We’ve done our best to ensure it’s accurate, but it can be a challenge to verify if a swim was indoor or outdoor, especially if the venue has both types of facilities. If you see an error, please let us know.

Indoor vs. Outdoor World Record Table

Note: True World Record is in BOLD

Some Observations:

The overwhelming majority of true world records happen in indoor pools. Six men’s world records were swum outside, compared to 11 inside. On the women’s side, only two world records occurred outside: Federica Pellegrini‘s 200 freestyle and Sjostrom’s 50 fly. That’s a total of eight out of a possible 28, or 28.57%.

Of course, one major factor inflating this statistic is that there are more indoor than outdoor 50-meter pools. Also, there are few outdoor 50-meter pools that are usable all four seasons, meaning that there’s a limited window each year for setting a record in an outdoor pool.

Separating the record books brings a super-suit resurgence. In large part, that’s because the 2009 World Championships were held in Rome’s outdoor pool. Twenty-two individual world records were set at that meet. And, if we make a distinction between indoor and outdoor records, nine of those previously erased would be back on the books. In total, making two record books means there would be 17 super-suited records.

There are five swimmers who hold both the indoor and outdoor records. They are: Cesar Cielo, Adam Peaty, Ryan Lochte, Katie Ledecky, and Sjostrom. Of those five, only the women hold both records in multiple events. Ledecky has both records in the 800 and 1500 freestyle. Meanwhile, Sjostrom owns both in the 50 and 100 butterfly.

Of the people holding both records in the same event, Ledecky’s in the 1500 freestyle are furthest apart. She swam her outdoor record (15:28.36) in August 2014, and her indoor record (15:20.48) in May 2018–a gap of almost four years. It’s Sjostrom who’s next, with her 50 fly swims happening three years apart.

If World Aquatics did keep records this way, the oldest record on the books would belong to Ian Thorpe, whose 3:40.08 from July 2002 would stand as the men’s 400 free indoor world record. The men’s 400 free also has the least disparity between the indoor and outdoor records, as Thorpe and Paul Biedermann are separated by just a hundredth. Other records with small disparities are the women’s and men’s 200 IM.