# List of individual gold medalists in swimming at the Olympics and World Aquatics Championships (women)

This is an overview of the women's swimming champions in individual events at the Olympics and the World Aquatics Championships. These tournaments are the only global long course (50 meter pool) swimming championships organized by world swimming federation FINA. This list gives an overview of the dominant swimmers throughout the history of swimming.
Currently, the Olympic program includes 14 individual events, and the World Championships program 17. These numbers were lower in the past, as shown in the table.
Asterisks (*) link to the event article. Use the sort function in the left-hand column to separate Olympics and World Championships.
| Year | Freestyle | Freestyle | Freestyle | Freestyle | Freestyle | Freestyle | Backstroke | Backstroke | Backstroke | Breaststroke | Breaststroke | Breaststroke | Butterfly | Butterfly | Butterfly | Individual medley | Individual medley |
| Year | 50 m | 100 m | 200 m | 400 m | 800 m | 1500 m | 50 m | 100 m | 200 m | 50 m | 100 m | 200 m | 50 m | 100 m | 200 m | 200 m | 400 m |
| OG 1912 | – | Durack* | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| OG 1920 | – | Bleibtrey* | – | Bleibtrey* (300 m) | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| OG 1924 | – | Lackie* | – | Norelius* | – | – | – | Bauer* | – | – | – | Morton* | – | – | – | – | – |
| OG 1928 | – | Osipowich* | – | Norelius* | – | – | – | Braun* | – | – | – | Schrader* | – | – | – | – | – |
| OG 1932 | – | Madison* | – | Madison* | – | – | – | Holm* | – | – | – | Dennis* | – | – | – | – | – |
| OG 1936 | – | Mastenbroek* | – | Mastenbroek* | – | – | – | Senff* | – | – | – | Maehata* | – | – | – | – | – |
| OG 1948 | – | Andersen* | – | Curtis* | – | – | – | Harup* | – | – | – | van Vliet* | – | – | – | – | – |
| OG 1952 | – | Szőke* | – | Gyenge* | – | – | – | Harrison* | – | – | – | Székely* | – | – | – | – | – |
| OG 1956 | – | Fraser* | – | Crapp* | – | – | – | Grinham* | – | – | – | Happe* | – | Mann* | – | – | – |
| OG 1960 | – | Fraser* | – | von Saltza* | – | – | – | Burke* | – | – | – | Lonsbrough* | – | Schuler* | – | – | – |
| OG 1964 | – | Fraser* | – | Duenkel* | – | – | – | Ferguson* | – | – | – | Prozumensh-chikova* | – | Stouder* | – | – | de Varona* |
| OG 1968 | – | Henne* | Meyer* | Meyer* | Meyer* | – | – | Hall* | Watson* | – | Bjedov* | Wichman* | – | McClements* | Kok* | Kolb* | Kolb* |
| OG 1972 | – | Neilson* | Gould* | Gould* | Rothhammer* | – | – | Belote* | Belote * | – | Carr* | Whitfield* | – | Aoki* | Moe* | Gould* | Neall* |
| WC 1973 | – | Ender* | Rothhammer* | Greenwood* | Calligaris* | – | – | Richter* | Belote* | – | Vogel* | Vogel* | – | Ender* | Kother* | Hübner* | Wegner* |
| WC 1975 | – | Ender* | Babashoff* | Babashoff* | Turrall* | – | – | Richter* | Treiber* | – | Anke* | Anke* | – | Ender* | Kother* | Heddy* | Tauber* |
| OG 1976 | – | Ender* | Ender* | Thümer* | Thümer* | – | – | Richter* | Richter* | – | Anke* | Kosheveya* | – | Ender* | Pollack* | – | Tauber* |
| WC 1978 | – | Krause* | Woodhead* | Wickham* | Wickham* | – | – | Jezek* | Jezek* | – | Bogdanova* | Kačiušytė* | – | Pennington* | Caulkins* | Caulkins* | Caulkins* |
| OG 1980 | – | Krause* | Krause* | Diers* | Ford* | – | – | Reinisch* | Reinisch* | – | Geweniger* | Kačiušytė* | – | Metschuck* | Geissler* | – | Schneider* |
| WC 1982 | – | Meineke* | Verstappen* | Schmidt* | Linehan* | – | – | Otto* | Sirch* | – | Geweniger* | Varganova* | – | Meagher* | Geissler* | Schneider* | Schneider* |
| OG 1984 | – | Steinseifer & Hogshead* | Wayte* | Cohen* | Cohen* | – | – | Andrews* | de Rover* | – | van Staveren* | Ottenbrite* | – | Meagher* | Meagher* | Caulkins * | Caulkins * |
| WC 1986 | Costache* | Otto* | Friedrich * | Friedrich * | Strauss* | – | – | Mitchell* | Sirch* | – | Gerasch* | Hörner* | – | Gressler* | Meagher* | Otto* | Nord* |
| OG 1988 | Otto* | Otto* | Friedrich* | Evans* | Evans* | – | – | Otto* | Egerszegi* | – | Danga-lakova* | Hörner* | – | Otto* | Nord* | Hunger* | Evans* |
| WC 1991 | Zhuang* | Haislett* | Lewis* | Evans* | Evans* | – | – | Egerszegi* | Egerszegi* | – | Frame* | Volkova* | – | Qian* | Sanders* | Lin* | Lin* |
| OG 1992 | Yang* | Zhuang* | Haislett* | Hase* | Evans* | – | – | Egerszegi* | Egerszegi* | – | Rudkov-skaya* | Iwasaki* | – | Hong* | Sanders* | Lin* | Egerszegi* |
| WC 1994 | Le* | Le* | van Almsick* | Yang* | Evans* | – | – | He* | He* | – | Riley* | Riley* | – | Liu* | Liu* | Lü* | Dai* |
| OG 1996 | Van Dyken* | Le* | Poll* | Smith* | Bennett* | – | – | Botsford* | Egerszegi* | – | Heyns* | Heyns* | – | Van Dyken* | O'Neill* | Smith* | Smith* |
| WC 1998 | Van Dyken* | Thompson* | Poll* | Chen* | Bennett* | – | – | Loveless-Maurer* | Maracineanu* | – | Kowal* | Kovács* | – | Thompson* | O'Neill* | Wu* | Chen* |
| OG 2000 | de Bruijn* | de Bruijn* | O'Neill* | Bennett* | Bennett* | – | – | Mocanu* | Mocanu* | – | Quann* | Kovács* | – | de Bruijn* | Hyman* | Klochkova* | Klochkova* |
| WC 2001 | de Bruijn* | de Bruijn* | Rooney* | Klochkova* | Stockbauer* | Stockbauer* | Cope* | Coughlin* | Mocanu* | Luo* | Luo* | Kovács* | de Bruijn* | Thomas* | Thomas* | Bowen* | Klochkova* |
| WC 2003 | de Bruijn* | Seppälä* | Popchanka* | Stockbauer* | Stockbauer* | Stockbauer* | Zhivan-evskaya* | Busch-schulte* | Sexton* | Luo* | Luo* | Beard* | de Bruijn* | Thompson* | Jędrzejczak* | Klochkova* | Klochkova* |
| OG 2004 | de Bruijn* | Henry* | Potec* | Manaudou* | Shibata* | – | – | Coughlin* | Coventry* | – | Luo* | Beard* | – | Thomas* | Jędrzejczak* | Klochkova* | Klochkova* |
| WC 2005 | Lenton* | Henry* | Figuès* | Manaudou* | Ziegler* | Ziegler* | Rooney* | Coventry* | Coventry* | Edmistone* | Jones* | Jones* | Miatke* | Schipper* | Jędrzejczak* | Hoff* | Hoff* |
| WC 2007 | Lenton* | Lenton* | Manaudou* | Manaudou* | Ziegler* | Ziegler* | Vaziri* | Coughlin* | Hoelzer* | Hardy* | Jones* | Jones* | Alshammar* | Lenton* | Schipper* | Hoff* | Hoff* |
| OG 2008 | Steffen* | Steffen* | Pellegrini* | Adlington* | Adlington* | – | – | Coughlin* | Coventry* | – | Jones* | Soni* | – | Trickett* | Liu* | Rice* | Rice* |
| WC 2009 | Steffen* | Steffen* | Pellegrini* | Pellegrini* | Friis* | Filippi* | Zhao* | Spofforth* | Coventry* | Yefimova* | Soni* | Higl* | Guehrer* | Sjöström* | Schipper* | Kukors* | Hosszú* |
| WC 2011 | Alshammar* | Ottesen & Gerasimenya* | Pellegrini* | Pellegrini* | Adlington* | Friis* | Zuyeva* | Zhao* | Franklin* | Hardy* | Soni* | Soni* | Dekker* | Vollmer* | Jiao* | Ye* | Beisel* |
| OG 2012 | Kromo-widjojo* | Kromo-widjojo* | Schmitt* | Muffat* | Ledecky* | – | – | Franklin* | Franklin* | – | Meilutytė* | Soni* | – | Vollmer* | Jiao* | Ye* | Ye* |
| WC 2013 | Kromo-widjojo* | C.Campbell* | Franklin* | Ledecky* | Ledecky* | Ledecky* | Zhao* | Franklin* | Franklin* | Yefimova* | Meilutytė* | Yefimova* | Ottesen* | Sjöström* | Liu* | Hosszú* | Hosszú* |
| WC 2015 | B.Campbell* | B.Campbell* | Ledecky* | Ledecky* | Ledecky* | Ledecky* | Fu* | Seebohm* | Seebohm* | Johansson* | Yefimova* | Watanabe* | Sjöström* | Sjöström* | Hoshi* | Hosszú* | Hosszú* |
| OG 2016 | Blume* | Manuel & Oleksiak* | Ledecky* | Ledecky* | Ledecky* | – | – | Hosszú* | DiRado* | – | King* | Kaneto* | – | Sjöström* | Belmonte* | Hosszú* | Hosszú* |
| WC 2017 | Sjöström* | Manuel* | Pellegrini* | Ledecky* | Ledecky* | Ledecky* | Medeiros* | Masse* | Seebohm* | King* | King* | Yefimova* | Sjöström* | Sjöström* | Belmonte* | Hosszú* | Hosszú* |
| WC 2019 | Manuel* | Manuel* | Pellegrini* | Titmus* | Ledecky* | Quadarella* | Smoliga* | Masse* | Smith* | King* | King* | Yefimova* | Sjöström* | MacNeil* | Kapás* | Hosszú* | Hosszú * |
| OG 2020 | McKeon* | McKeon* | Titmus* | Titmus* | Ledecky* | Ledecky* | – | McKeown* | McKeown* | – | Jacoby* | Schoenmaker* | – | MacNeil* | Zhang* | Ohashi* | Ohashi* |
| WC 2022 | Sjöström* | O'Callaghan* | Yang* | Ledecky* | Ledecky* | Ledecky* | Masse* | Smith* | McKeown* | Meilutytė* | Pilato* | King* | Sjöström* | Huske* | McIntosh* | Walsh* | McIntosh* |
| WC 2023 | Sjöström* | O'Callaghan* | O'Callaghan* | Titmus* | Ledecky* | Ledecky* | McKeown* | McKeown* | McKeown* | Meilutytė* | Meilutytė* | Schoenmaker* | Sjöström* | Zhang* | McIntosh* | Douglass* | McIntosh* |
| WC 2024 | Sjöström* | Steenbergen* | Haughey* | Fairweather* | Quadarella* | Quadarella* | Curzan* | Curzan* | Curzan* | Meilutytė* | Tang* | Schouten* | Sjöström* | Köhler* | Stephens* | Douglass* | Colbert* |
| OG 2024 | Sjöström* | Sjöström* | O'Callaghan* | Titmus* | Ledecky* | Ledecky* | – | McKeown* | McKeown* | – | Smith* | Douglass* | – | Huske* | McIntosh* | McIntosh* | McIntosh* |
Note: Only events that are presently contested have their own column in the above table. At the 1920 Olympics, a 300-meter freestyle event was held. The champion in this event has been placed in the 400-meter freestyle column.

## Title leaders

* The leaders in these events are listed below. All swimmers with at least three individual titles are included. Note that this list favors more recent swimmers due to the increasing number of events held, and the introduction and increasing frequency of the World Championships.
Asterisks (*) and bold denote active swimmers
| Rank | Name | Year of birth | Total titles | Olympic Games | World Championships | Time span |
| 1. | Katie Ledecky* | 1997 | 24 | 8 | 16 | 2012–2024 (13) |
| 2. | Sarah Sjöström* | 1993 | 17 | 3 | 14 | 2009–2024 (16) |
| 3. | Katinka Hosszú | 1989 | 12 | 3 | 9 | 2009–2019 (11) |
| 4. | Inge de Bruijn | 1973 | 9 | 4 | 5 | 2000–2004 (5) |
| 5. | Yana Klochkova | 1982 | 8 | 4 | 4 | 2000–2004 (5) |
| 5. | Kaylee McKeown* | 2001 | 8 | 4 | 4 | 2021–2024 (4) |
| 7. | Krisztina Egerszegi | 1974 | 7 | 5 | 2 | 1988–1996 (9) |
| 7. | Janet Evans | 1971 | 7 | 4 | 3 | 1988–1994 (7) |
| 7. | Kristin Otto | 1966 | 7 | 4 | 3 | 1982–1988 (7) |
| 7. | Kornelia Ender | 1958 | 7 | 3 | 4 | 1973–1976 (4) |
| 7. | Summer McIntosh* | 2006 | 7 | 3 | 4 | 2022–2024 (3) |
| 7. | Federica Pellegrini | 1988 | 7 | 1 | 6 | 2008–2019 (12) |
| 13. | Missy Franklin | 1995 | 6 | 2 | 4 | 2011–2013 (3) |
| 13. | Lilly King* | 1997 | 6 | 1 | 5 | 2016–2022 (7) |
| 13. | Rūta Meilutytė* | 1997 | 6 | 1 | 5 | 2012–2024 (13) |
| 13. | Yuliya Yefimova* | 1992 | 6 | 0 | 6 | 2009–2019 (11) |
| 17. | Ariarne Titmus* | 2000 | 5 | 3 | 2 | 2019–2024 (6) |
| 17. | Tracy Caulkins | 1963 | 5 | 2 | 3 | 1978–1984 (7) |
| 17. | Kirsty Coventry | 1983 | 5 | 2 | 3 | 2004–2009 (6) |
| 17. | Rebecca Soni | 1987 | 5 | 2 | 3 | 2008–2012 (5) |
| 17. | Luo Xuejuan | 1984 | 5 | 1 | 4 | 2001–2004 (4) |
| 17. | Leisel Jones | 1985 | 5 | 1 | 4 | 2005–2008 (4) |
| 17. | Libby Trickett (Lenton) | 1985 | 5 | 1 | 4 | 2005–2008 (4) |
| 17. | Hannah Stockbauer | 1982 | 5 | 0 | 5 | 2001–2003 (3) |
| 24. | Brooke Bennett | 1980 | 4 | 3 | 1 | 1996–2000 (5) |
| 24. | Ulrike Richter | 1959 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 1973–1976 (4) |
| 24. | Mary T. Meagher | 1964 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 1982–1986 (5) |
| 24. | Natalie Coughlin | 1982 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 2001–2008 (8) |
| 24. | Britta Steffen | 1983 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 2008–2009 (2) |
| 24. | Simone Manuel* | 1996 | 4 | 1 | 3 | 2016–2019 (4) |
| 24. | Laure Manaudou | 1986 | 4 | 1 | 3 | 2004–2007 (4) |
| 24. | Mollie O'Callaghan* | 2004 | 4 | 1 | 3 | 2022–2024 (3) |
| 24. | Katie Hoff | 1989 | 4 | 0 | 4 | 2005–2007 (3) |
| 24. | Kate Ziegler | 1988 | 4 | 0 | 4 | 2005–2007 (3) |
| 34. | Dawn Fraser | 1937 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 1956–1964 (9) |
| 34. | Debbie Meyer | 1952 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 1968 (1) |
| 34. | Shane Gould | 1956 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 1972 (1) |
| 34. | Michelle Smith | 1969 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 1996 (1) |
| 34. | Melissa Belote | 1956 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 1972–1973 (2) |
| 34. | Barbara Krause | 1959 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 1978–1980 (3) |
| 34. | Amy Van Dyken | 1973 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 1996–1998 (3) |
| 34. | Susie O'Neill | 1973 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 1996–2000 (5) |
| 34. | Diana Mocanu | 1984 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 2000–2001 (2) |
| 34. | Rebecca Adlington | 1989 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 2008–2011 (4) |
| 34. | Ranomi Kromowidjojo | 1990 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 2012–2013 (2) |
| 34. | Ye Shiwen* | 1996 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 2011–2012 (2) |
| 34. | Tatjana Smith | 1997 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 2021–2024 (4) |
| 34. | Hannelore Anke | 1957 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 1975–1976 (2) |
| 34. | Petra Schneider | 1963 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 1980–1982 (3) |
| 34. | Heike Friedrich | 1970 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 1986–1988 (3) |
| 34. | Lin Li | 1970 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 1991–1992 (2) |
| 34. | Ágnes Kovács | 1981 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 1998–2001 (4) |
| 34. | Petria Thomas | 1975 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 2001–2004 (4) |
| 34. | Otylia Jędrzejczak | 1983 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 2003–2005 (3) |
| 34. | Kate Douglass* | 2001 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 2023–2024 (2) |
| 34. | Jenny Thompson | 1973 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 1998–2003 (6) |
| 34. | Jessicah Schipper | 1986 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 2005–2009 (5) |
| 34. | Zhao Jing | 1990 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 2009–2013 (5) |
| 34. | Emily Seebohm | 1992 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 2015–2017 (3) |
| 34. | Kylie Masse* | 1996 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 2017–2022 (6) |
| 34. | Simona Quadarella* | 1998 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 2019–2024 (6) |
| 34. | Claire Curzan* | 2004 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 2024 (1) |