Multiple-time Olympic medallists Ranomi Kromowidjojo (NED) and László Cseh (HUN) were among the swimmers honoured, alongside open water swimming great Ferry Weertman (NED) and from the Class of 2025 six-time Olympic swimming gold medallist Ryan Lochte (USA), who was unable to attend last year’s ceremony in Singapore. Contributor inductee Sid Cassidy, one of the architects of open water swimming's inclusion at the Olympic Games, was also inducted.

The full Class of 2026 comprises Honor Swimmers Nathan Adrian (USA), László Cseh (HUN) and Ranomi Kromowidjojo (NED); Honor Open Water Swimmer Ferry Weertman (NED); Honor Diver Tania Cagnotto (ITA); Honor Water Polo Player Simone Fountain (AUS); Honor Artistic Swimmer Heather Simmons-Carrasco (USA); Honor Masters Swimmer Richard Burns (USA); Honor Coach Jane Figueiredo (ZIM); Honor Contributor Stephen A. "Sid" Cassidy (USA); and Honor Paralympian Beatrice Hess (FRA).

The ceremony also formally inducted swimmer Ryan Lochte (USA) and Coach Gregg Troy (USA) from the 2025 class.

Ranomi Kromowidjojo (NED) | Honor Swimmer

Dutch star Kromowidjojo won four Olympic Games medals across her career, including Women’s 4x100m Freestyle gold at Beijing 2008 and, most memorably, an unprecedented 50m and 100m Freestyle double at the London 2012 Games, setting Olympic records in each event.

Kromowidjojo's brilliance extended to the World Aquatics Championships, winning 17 medals in long course and 28 at the World Aquatics Swimming Championships (25m). In short course competition, she won 14 world titles and also held world records in the 50m Freestyle and across multiple relay events.

Adding to the occasion on the night, Kromowidjojo was presented by her husband and fellow Class of 2026 inductee, Ferry Weertman – making the pair the first married couple to be inducted on the same evening. The couple welcomed their daughter, Livia, in February 2026.

“From a baby to a local swimmer, to a national swimmer, and eventually an international swimmer, I achieved way more than I ever could dream of. I was not born as a champion. Every stroke, every lesson, I learned. By falling and getting up, falling again, and getting up again,” Kromowidjojo said in accepting her honour.

She dedicated her induction to family, coaches and teammates, and spoke of the responsibility she feels as an athlete ambassador.

László Cseh (HUN) | Honor Swimmer

Cseh cemented his place among the sport's all-time greats through the quality and longevity of his success. A five-time Olympian and six-time Olympic medallist, Cseh earned medals at four separate Games, beginning with bronze in the 400m Individual Medley at Athens 2004 and culminating with silver in the 100m Butterfly at Rio 2016, that final podium finish coming in the form of a historic three-way tie with Michael Phelps and Chad le Clos.

Across his career, Cseh amassed 74 medals in major international competition, including 38 golds. A 33-time European champion and five-time world record holder, his gold medal performances a full decade apart at the 2005 and 2015 World Aquatics Championships demonstrate his staying power. He was named Hungarian Swimmer of the Year nine times and carried his nation's flag at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games in his fifth and final Olympic appearance.

“Standing here tonight is a dream I hardly dared to imagine,” Cseh told the audience.

He thanked his family, coaches, teammates, and offered a tribute to his rivals.

“I want to offer a very special thank you to my competition – Michael Phelps, Ryan Lochte, Marcus Rogan, and all of the Hungarian guys I ever raced, just to name a few. That may sound unconventional, but the truth is you were my greatest motivation. Every time I stepped on the block and looked into the lanes beside me, I knew there was no room for error. Your extraordinary performances pushed me beyond my limits every single day.”

Ferry Weertman (NED) | Honor Open Water Swimmer

Weertman became the first man to hold both the Olympic and World Championship titles in the 10km open water swim simultaneously, a feat that captures the scale of his achievement in the sport. He claimed Olympic gold at Rio 2016 and followed that with world title victory at the 2017 World Aquatics Championships in Budapest, having taken silver in Kazan two years earlier. He was also a two-time World Aquatics Open Water Swimmer of the Year (2016 and 2018).

Weertman reflected on all that the sport has given him, including his family.

“Looking back, swimming gave me so much throughout the years. It brought me to my wife, who is also here, and she has blessed me with our wonderful daughter,” he said.

He spoke of his continued commitment to the sport through his roles in aquatics in the Netherlands and as Vice-Chairman of the World Aquatics Open Water Swimming Technical Committee.

“Together, I believe we can make this sport even better than we found it,” he added.

Ryan Lochte (USA) | Honor Swimmer from 2025 Class

Ryan Lochte arrived in Fort Lauderdale having been inducted as part of the Class of 2025. After being unable to attend last year's ceremony in Singapore, he finally took his place in the ISHOF.

Lochte compiled one of the most remarkable records in the history of the sport. His 12 Olympic medals, including six gold, place him among the most decorated swimmers ever to compete at the Games. From his debut at Athens 2004, where he won gold in the 4x200m Freestyle Relay and silver in the 200m Individual Medley, through to his final Olympic title in the 4x200m Freestyle Relay at Rio 2016, Lochte was a fixture on the podium across four consecutive Games.

His record at the World Championships was equally extraordinary. Across long and short course competition, he amassed 65 medals – 18 gold at the World Aquatics Championships and 21 gold at the World Aquatics Swimming Championships (25m) among them. His performance at the 2011 World Aquatics Championships in Shanghai stands as one of the greatest achievements in the sport's history, winning four individual gold medals and setting a world record in the 200m Individual Medley, the first in that event in the post-supersuit era.

Lochte enjoyed a celebrated rivalry with his compatriot Michael Phelps, one that pushed both men to remarkable heights.

“When I first started swimming, it wasn't about medals or records. It was about racing my friends, having fun, and trying to swim fast for coach [Gregg] Troy so he wouldn't make practice harder the next day. Somehow that turned into 12 Olympic medals and a lifetime of memories I could never imagine,” he reflected.

Among those he paid tribute to were his father for giving him the foundation to dream big, to coach Gregg Troy and his University of Florida teammates, his wife Molly and his children.

Lochte concluded:

Stephen A. "Sid" Cassidy (USA) | Honor Contributor

In a ceremony full of memorable moments, few drew a more affectionate reception than Sid Cassidy, who took to the stage as an inductee.

Cassidy's contribution to open water swimming spans almost every role the sport has to offer: athlete, coach, race director and, most consequentially, Chairman of the World Aquatics Open Water Swimming Technical Committee. In that role, he was instrumental in helping bring open water swimming to the Olympic programme, making its debut at Beijing 2008. He served as the Head Referee for the first-ever Men’s Olympic 10km swim in Beijing, and has spent decades standardising and professionalising open water swimming judging and race staging globally.

Cassidy reflected on a career built on relationships as much as results.

“They said: you're a contributor. And I looked it up and it said, someone who gives. But I receive much more than I've given,” he told the audience.

He paid particular tribute to the late Bob Mattson, his formative coach, and thanked his wife Kara and the staff at St Andrews Aquatics in Boca Raton, where he has been based for the past 22 years.

A Note on the Full Class

The evening also honoured the full breadth of aquatic sport. Water polo's Simone Fountain relived the 1.3-second miracle at Sydney 2000 that secured the first-ever Olympic gold in women's water polo. Diving coach Jane Figueiredo, recipient of the 2024 IOC Coaches Lifetime Achievement Award, was introduced by two of the first athletes she guided to Olympic gold. Masters swimmer Richard Burns (USA), holder of 97 individual world records aged over 80, received a rousing tribute.

Five-time Olympian Nathan Adrian, a five-time Olympic gold medalist who won eight Olympic medals in total and became an advocate for cancer awareness following his testicular cancer diagnosis in 2019, was recognised as one of the great American sprint freestylers.

Tania Cagnotto (ITA), a five-time Olympian who won Italy's first-ever Olympic medals in women's diving at Rio 2016 – silver in the 3m Synchronised Springboard and bronze in the individual event – and who became the first Italian woman to claim a diving world title at the 2015 World Aquatics Championships, was also celebrated.

Artistic swimmer Heather Simmons-Carrasco (USA), a vital member of the U.S. squad that won the first Olympic gold in the team event at Atlanta 1996 and part of a team that remained undefeated in major international competition for seven consecutive years, was inducted as Honor Artistic Swimmer.

Beatrice Hess (FRA), the most decorated French Paralympic swimmer in history with 25 Paralympic medals including 20 golds across five Games from 1984 to 2004, and twice her nation's flagbearer, was honoured at the ceremony.

Coach Gregg Troy rounded out the night from the Class of 2025.

The ISHOF is located in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, and serves as the sport's leading institution for honouring the athletes, coaches and contributors who have shaped aquatic sport worldwide.