# Swimming at the African Games

Swimming has been part of African Games since its inaugural edition in 1965 and has continued to feature prominently at the competition in each of its subsequent editions.

## Editions

| Games | Year | Host city | Countries | Swimmers | Swimmers | Swimmers | Events | Events | Events | Best nation |
| Games | Year | Host city | Countries | Men | Women | Total | Men | Women | Mixed | Best nation |
| 1 | 1965 | Brazzaville | | | — | | 8 | — | — | United Arab Republic |
| 2 | 1973 | Lagos | | | | | 13 | 9 | — | Egypt |
| 3 | 1978 | Algiers | | | | | 13 | 13 | — | Tunisia |
| 4 | 1987 | Nairobi | | | | | 16 | 16 | — | Tunisia |
| 5 | 1991 | Cairo | | | | | 16 | 16 | — | Egypt |
| 6 | 1995 | Harare | | | | | 16 | 16 | — | South Africa |
| 7 | 1999 | Johannesburg | 18 | | | 128 | 16 | 16 | — | South Africa |
| 8 | 2003 | Abuja | 21 | 63 | 54 | 117 | 20 | 20 | — | South Africa |
| 9 | 2007 | Algiers | 19 | | | 121 | 20 | 20 | — | South Africa |
| 10 | 2011 | Maputo | 25 | | | | 20 | 20 | — | South Africa |
| 11 | 2015 | Brazzaville | | | | | 20 | 20 | 2 | South Africa |
| 12 | 2019 | Rabat | 37 | | | | 20 | 20 | 2 | South Africa |
| 13 | 2023 | Accra | | | | | 20 | 20 | 2 | South Africa |

## Medal table

As of 2023:
| Rank | Nation | Gold | Silver | Bronze | Total |
| 1 | South Africa (RSA) | 201 | 135 | 104 | 440 |
| 2 | Egypt (EGY) | 108 | 115 | 104 | 327 |
| 3 | Tunisia (TUN) | 52 | 37 | 48 | 137 |
| 4 | Algeria (ALG) | 36 | 58 | 74 | 168 |
| 5 | Zimbabwe (ZIM) | 21 | 28 | 31 | 80 |
| 6 | Kenya (KEN) | 6 | 7 | 8 | 21 |
| 7 | Nigeria (NGR) | 4 | 12 | 15 | 31 |
| 8 | Mauritius (MRI) | 3 | 4 | 3 | 10 |
| 9 | Seychelles (SEY) | 2 | 4 | 9 | 15 |
| 10 | Namibia (NAM) | 2 | 3 | 12 | 17 |
| 11 | Madagascar (MAD) | 1 | 4 | 8 | 13 |
| 12 | Angola (ANG) | 1 | 1 | 6 | 8 |
| 13 | Senegal (SEN) | 0 | 2 | 9 | 11 |
| 14 | Botswana (BOT) | 0 | 2 | 3 | 5 |
| 15 | Ghana (GHA) | 0 | 1 | 3 | 4 |
| 16 | Ivory Coast (CIV) | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| 17 | Mozambique (MOZ) | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 18 | Zambia (ZAM) | 0 | 0 | 9 | 9 |
| 19 | Morocco (MAR) | 0 | 0 | 5 | 5 |
| 20 | Uganda (UGA) | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Totals (20 entries) | Totals (20 entries) | 437 | 415 | 453 | 1,305 |

## Games records

All records were set in finals unless noted otherwise. All times are swum in a long-course (50m) pool.

### Men

| Event | Time | Name | Nationality | Date | Meet | Location |
| 50m freestyle | 22.02 | Ali Khalafalla | Egypt | 13 March 2024 | 2023 African Games | Accra, Ghana |
| 100m freestyle | 48.97 | Oussama Sahnoune | Algeria | 21 August 2019 | 2019 African Games | Casablanca, Morocco |
| 200m freestyle | 1:47.77 | Devon Brown | South Africa | 6 September 2015 | 2015 African Games | Brazzaville, Republic of the Congo |
| 400m freestyle | 3:48.06 | Ahmed Akram | Egypt | 9 September 2015 | 2015 African Games | Brazzaville, Republic of the Congo |
| 800m freestyle | 7:55.36 | Ahmed Akram | Egypt | 7 September 2015 | 2015 African Games | Brazzaville, Republic of the Congo |
| 1500m freestyle | 15:11.68 | Ahmed Akram | Egypt | 10 September 2015 | 2015 African Games | Brazzaville, Republic of the Congo |
| 50m backstroke | 25.26 | Mohamed Samy | Egypt | 23 August 2019 | 2019 African Games | Casablanca, Morocco |
| 100m backstroke | 55.02 | Abdellah Ardjoune | Algeria | 24 August 2019 | 2019 African Games | Casablanca, Morocco |
| 200m backstroke | 1:59.03 | Martin Binedell | South Africa | 21 August 2019 | 2019 African Games | Casablanca, Morocco |
| 50m breaststroke | 27.18 | Cameron van der Burgh | South Africa | 7 September 2015 | 2015 African Games | Brazzaville, Republic of the Congo |
| 100m breaststroke | 1:00.19 | Cameron van der Burgh | South Africa | 6 September 2015 | 2015 African Games | Brazzaville, Republic of the Congo |
| 200m breaststroke | 2:14.21 | Alaric Basson | South Africa | 23 August 2019 | 2019 African Games | Casablanca, Morocco |
| 50m butterfly | 23.51 | Chad le Clos | South Africa | 8 September 2015 | 2015 African Games | Brazzaville, Republic of the Congo |
| 100m butterfly | 51.24 | Chad le Clos | South Africa | 7 September 2015 | 2015 African Games | Brazzaville, Republic of the Congo |
| 200m butterfly | 1:56.37 | Chad le Clos | South Africa | 9 September 2011 | 2011 All-Africa Games | Maputo, Mozambique |
| 200m individual medley | 2:00.70 | Chad le Clos | South Africa | 10 September 2011 | 2011 All-Africa Games | Maputo, Mozambique |
| 400m individual medley | 4:16.88 | Chad le Clos | South Africa | 6 September 2011 | 2011 All-Africa Games | Maputo, Mozambique |
| 4×100m freestyle relay | 3:19.42 | Leith ShanklandChad le ClosGideon LouwDarian Townsend | South Africa | 8 September 2011 | 2011 All-Africa Games | Maputo, Mozambique |
| 4×200m freestyle relay | 7:18.62 | Brent Szurdoki (1:51.94)Calvyn Justus (1:50.68)Devon Brown (1:48.05)Chad le Clos (1:47.95) | South Africa | 8 September 2015 | 2015 African Games | Brazzaville, Republic of the Congo |
| 4×100m medley relay | 3:40.24 | Martin Binedell (56.46)Alaric Basson (1:00.70)Ryan Coetzee (53.18)Douglas Erasmus (49.90) | South Africa | 24 August 2019 | 2019 African Games | Casablanca, Morocco |

### Women

| Event | Time | Name | Nationality | Date | Meet | Location |
| 50m freestyle | 24.72 | Farida Osman | Egypt | 13 March 2024 | 2023 African Games | Accra, Ghana |
| 100m freestyle | 55.13 | Erin Gallagher | South Africa | 21 August 2019 | 2019 African Games | Casablanca, Morocco |
| 200m freestyle | 1:59.84 | Karin Prinsloo | South Africa | 6 September 2011 | 2011 All-Africa Games | Maputo, Mozambique |
| 400m freestyle | 4:15.53 | Melissa Corfe | South Africa | July 2007 | 2007 All-Africa Games | Algiers, Algeria |
| 800m freestyle | 8:43.89 | Kirsty Coventry | Zimbabwe | July 2007 | 2007 All-Africa Games | Algiers, Algeria |
| 1500m freestyle | 16:47.61 | Catherine van Rensburg | South Africa | 9 March 2024 | 2023 African Games | Accra, Ghana |
| 50m backstroke | 28.76 | Caitlin de Lange | South Africa | 11 March 2024 | 2023 African Games | Accra, Ghana |
| 100m backstroke | 1:00.86 | Kirsty Coventry | Zimbabwe | 7 September 2011 | 2011 All-Africa Games | Maputo, Mozambique |
| 200m backstroke | 2:10.66 | Kirsty Coventry | Zimbabwe | July 2007 | 2007 All-Africa Games | Algiers, Algeria |
| 50m breaststroke | 31.91 | Simone Moll | South Africa | 12 March 2024 | 2023 African Games | Accra, Ghana |
| 100m breaststroke | 1:07.58 | Penny Heyns | South Africa | September 1999 | 1999 All-Africa Games | Johannesburg, South Africa |
| 200m breaststroke | 2:28.00 | Penny Heyns | South Africa | September 1999 | 1999 All-Africa Games | Johannesburg, South Africa |
| 50m butterfly | 25.94 | Farida Osman | Egypt | 22 August 2019 | 2019 African Games | Casablanca, Morocco |
| 100m butterfly | 58.79 | Farida Osman | Egypt | 23 August 2019 | 2019 African Games | Casablanca, Morocco |
| 200m butterfly | 2:12.46 | Mandy Loots | South Africa | 10 September 2011 | 2011 All-Africa Games | Maputo, Mozambique |
| 200m individual medley | 2:13.02 | Kirsty Coventry | Zimbabwe | July 2007 | 2007 All-Africa Games | Algiers, Algeria |
| 400m individual medley | 4:39.91 | Kirsty Coventry | Zimbabwe | July 2007 | 2007 All-Africa Games | Algiers, Algeria |
| 4×100m freestyle relay | 3:48.47 | Farida Osman (55.86)Nour El-Gendy (57.53)Lojine Hamed (57.54)Nadine Abdallah (57.54) | Egypt | 12 March 2024 | 2023 African Games | Accra, Ghana |
| 4×200m freestyle relay | 8:20.28 | Rene Warnes (2:04.51)Marlies Ross (2:06.57)Charlise Oberholzer (2:08.04)Karin Prinsloo (2:01.16) | South Africa | 6 September 2015 | 2015 African Games | Brazzaville, Republic of the Congo |
| 4×100m medley relay | 4:10.90 | | South Africa | July 2007 | 2007 All-Africa Games | Algiers, Algeria |

### Mixed relay

| Event | Time | | Name | Nationality | Date | Meet | Location | Ref |
| 4×100m freestyle relay | 3:31.24 | AF | Douglas Erasmus (50.42)Ryan Coetzee (49.74)Emma Chelius (55.87)Erin Gallagher (55.21) | South Africa | 23 August 2019 | 2019 African Games | Casablanca, Morocco | |
| 4×100m medley relay | 3:50.76 | | Martin Binedell (55.43)Michael Houlie (59.96)Erin Gallagher (58.98)Emma Chelius (56.39) | South Africa | 22 August 2019 | 2019 African Games | Casablanca, Morocco | |