World Aquatics has released the official results report for the World Aquatics Swimming Championships (25m) – Budapest 2024. The report provides an in-depth analysis of athlete performances across 45 championship events, highlighting key trends, record-breaking swims, and the historical progression of World Records at the competition.
The report highlights key statistics and standout performances from Budapest 2024 while offering comparisons to the past three editions of the World Aquatics Swimming Championships (25m).
As World Aquatics' first publication of its kind, the report provides in-depth insights for aquatics fans while also supporting the federation’s technical decision-making with enhanced statistics and analysis.
The full report is available here, with notable trends outlined below.
Global Success in Swimming
The medal distribution at the World Aquatics Swimming Championships (25m) – Budapest 2024 reflected the global depth of swimming talent, with all continents winning medals. North America (led by the USA and Canada) and Europe (notably Hungary, Italy, and Switzerland) dominated the medal rankings.
Twenty-three countries earned medals in Budapest 2024, consistent with the 23 medal-winning nations at Melbourne 2022 and 26 at Abu Dhabi 2021.
A record-breaking 985 athletes from 195 countries competed at the Championships, underscoring the event's growing international reach. Six of the 30 World Records set came in relay events, highlighting the strength of teamwork and national depth in competition.
Comparison Across Global Championships
Before the World Aquatics Swimming Championships (25m) – Budapest 2024, the highest number of World Records set at a single short-course championship was 22, achieved at Doha 2014.
In recent editions:
Melbourne 2022 saw 14 World Records set at the Melbourne Sports and Aquatics Centre.
Abu Dhabi 2021 saw just 4 World Records at the Etihad Arena.
Across all 17 editions of the World Aquatics Swimming Championships (25m), 175 World Records have been set—an average of 10.3 per championship. Budapest 2024 shattered this benchmark, nearly tripling the historical average.
Gender Breakdown of World Records
Female swimmers have been the most dominant, setting 102 of the 175 World Records (70 individual, 32 relays).
Male swimmers account for 41 individual World Records and 26 relay World Records.
Mixed Relays have produced 6 World Records.
Short Course (25m) vs. Long Course (50m) Records
Olympic Games (50m pool): 237 World Records set across 33 editions (average: 7.2 per Games).
World Aquatics Championships (50m pool): 211 World Records set across 21 editions (average: just over 10 per championship).
Medal Distribution and Nation Dominance
The United States dominated the Budapest 2024 medal table, winning 39 medals—the most of any nation. The USA’s 18 gold, 13 silver, and 8 bronze medals accounted for 40% of all gold medals and 29% of the total 135 medals awarded. This marks a slight increase in the USA’s share of medals compared to Melbourne 2022 (36 medals: 17 gold, 13 silver, 6 bronze) and Abu Dhabi 2021 (30 medals: 9 gold, 9 silver, 12 bronze).
Canada ranked second on the medal table with 15 medals (4 gold, 5 silver, 6 bronze), maintaining a consistent performance with Melbourne 2022 (14 medals: 3 gold, 4 silver, 7 bronze) and Abu Dhabi 2021 (15 medals: 7 gold, 6 silver, 2 bronze).
Neutral Athletes delivered a strong showing, securing 12 medals (6 gold, 4 silver, 2 bronze).
The People’s Republic of China significantly improved upon its Melbourne 2022 results, winning five medals (3 gold, 1 silver, 1 bronze) in Budapest 2024, up from two bronze medals in Melbourne 2022.
Australia experienced the largest performance decline compared to Melbourne 2022. After winning 26 medals (13 gold, 8 silver, 5 bronze) in their home pool, Australia’s tally dropped to 12 medals (2 gold, 5 silver, 5 bronze) in Budapest 2024.
Advanced Stats | Comparing Qualifying Times and Performances Achieved at Budapest 2024
The Results Report provides an in-depth statistical analysis of individual events at the 2024 World Swimming Championships (25) in Budapest. This advanced statistical deep dive compares the qualifying times entered with the performances achieved in the Heats, Semifinals, and Finals.
On average and median performance metrics, athletes consistently outperformed their qualifying times, delivering faster swims in Budapest 2024. Perhaps not surprisingly, this positive performance trend is most noticeable in the Fastest Heats, Semifinals, and Finals.
Record-Breaking Performances
The 2024 World Swimming Championships (25m) were among aquatics' finest hours. The Duna Arena hosted a record-setting end to the 2024 season, as athletes set 30 World Records, 13 World Junior Records, 46 Championship Records, and 63 Continental Records over the six days of competition at Duna Arena.
The record-breaking momentum began early, as Gretchen Walsh (USA) shattered the Women's 50m Butterfly World Record in the heats. The streak of record-setting performances continued throughout the event, culminating in the Men’s and Women’s 4x100m Medley Relays, which spectacularly closed the Championships.
The United States set the tone with a record-breaking 54.02 backstroke lead-off leg. Her teammates Lilly King, Gretchen Walsh, and Kate Douglass carried the momentum, finishing with a World Record of 3:40.41. In the men's relay, a quartet of Neutral Athletes—Miron Lifintsev, Kirill Prigoda, Andrei Minakov, and Egor Kornev—followed suit, setting a World Record of 3:18.68.
Top Performers | Record-Breaking Swimmers
Gretchen Walsh (USA) dominated, setting multiple 11 World Records in the Championships, including WRs in the Heats, Semifinals and Finals of the Women’s 100m Butterfly. With her performances in Budapest 2024, Walsh is now ranked in the overall Top 100 individual ranking of World Records set at the World Aquatics Championships, Olympic Games and the World Aquatics Swimming Championships (25m).
Summer McIntosh (CAN) set World Records in the 400m Freestyle, 200m Butterfly, and 400m Medley.
Kate Douglass (USA) broke individual World Records in the 200m Breaststroke and 200m Medley.
Regan Smith (USA) set individual World Records in the 50m, 100m and 200m backstroke. Smith’s performance in Budapest 2024 moves her to 16th overall in the Top 100 individual ranking of World Records set at the World Aquatics Championships, Olympic Games and the World Aquatics Swimming Championships (25m).
Noe Ponti (SUI) set individual World Records in the 50m Butterfly (Semifinals and Finals) and 100m Butterfly.
Luke Hobson (USA) set the World Record twice in the 200m freestyle (Relay opening leg and 200m Freestyle Final).
Jordan Crooks (CAY) set World Records in the 50m freestyle (20.08, 19.90 sec), becoming the first swimmer in history to break the 20-second barrier for 50m.
Relay records: The USA set five World Records across women's and men's freestyle and medley relays.
Overall Observations in World Record Progressions
Swimmers set the most World Records in sprint events (50m and 100m distances). This may be due to technical advancements in starts, turns, and underwater phases.
Butterfly and Backstroke events dominate World Record progressions, possibly due to improved stroke efficiency and underwater kicking techniques.
Records in freestyle mid-distance (200m, 400m) events are frequently surpassed. This may be due to more optimised pacing strategies and improved athlete aerobic capacities.