Only Five: The Events Where One Nation Owns Three of History’s Top-Five Performers
When conducting some research for an upcoming project, an interesting statistic emerged. Of the 17 individual events contested on the worldwide stage, only five feature a trio of top-five performers from the same country. It wasn’t a surprise that the United States accounted for four of the trifectas, but the other country was a bit of a shock. Tunisia is the other nation that can claim a top-five triumvirate.
Plenty of countries can claim a pair of top-five historical performers, but getting that third swimmer slotted in the upper echelon of the all-time rankings proved to be a more difficult task. Of the five events that fit the criteria, only the women’s 100 butterfly has three active athletes – Americans Gretchen Walsh, Torri Huske and Regan Smith.
As for Tunisia, the Northern African nation does not have a deep history in the sport, but its distance-freestyle reputation has certainly grown since Ous Mellouli starred during the first decade-plus of this millennium. Mellouli sits No. 2 all-time in the 800 freestyle, and is followed by countrymen Ahmed Jaouadi, the reigning world champ in the event, and Ahmed Hafnaoui, the 2023 world titlist.
The men’s individual medley events are headlined by two of swimming’s greatest names. While Michael Phelps remains the No. 2 performer of all-time in the 400 IM, he still sits at No. 3 in the 200 IM, an event in which he captured four Olympic gold medals. Meanwhile, in a reversal of places, Ryan Lochte still holds the No. 2 position in the 200 IM and is third in the longer medley.
Here is a list of the five events that have one country claiming three of the five-fastest performers in history:
Women’s 100 Butterfly (United States)
1. Gretchen Walsh – 54.60
3. Torri Huske – 55.52
5. Regan Smith – 55.62
Men’s 800 Freestyle (Tunisia)
2. Ous Mellouli – 7:53.27
3. Ahmed Jaouadi – 7:36.88
4. Ahmed Hafnaoui – 7:37.00
Men’s 50 Backstroke (United States)
2. Hunter Armstrong – 23.71
3. Justin Ress – 23.92
4. Shaine Casas – 24.00
Men’s 200 Individual Medley (United States)
2. Ryan Lochte – 1:54.00
3. Michael Phelps – 1:54.16
4. Shaine Casas – 1:54.30
Men’s 400 Individual Medley (United States)
2. Michael Phelps – 4:03.84
3. Ryan Lochte 4:05.18
4. Chase Kalisz – 4:05.90
