The Women’s World Records Ranked by Dominance; Gretchen Walsh Knows No Peer (Full Rankings)
Ever wonder which world record is the strongest on the books? One way to determine a record’s power is to compare it to the No. 2 performer in history? What was the gap? By what percentage is it superior? That information can be found below, as Swimming World ranked the women’s world records in order by percent difference to the No. 2 female athlete of all-time.
This endeavor followed our look at the men’s world records, and it wasn’t surprising to see Gretchen Walsh at the top the list. The American star’s world record of 54.60 in the 100-meter butterfly is 1.59% better than Sarah Sjostrom’s 55.48, which formerly was a world record. Walsh is one of three women to have a margin of more than 1% on the oppsosition, along with Katie Ledecky (1500 freestyle – 1.22%) and Summer McIntosh (400 individual medley – 1.02%).
Before the World Championships in Singapore, Ledecky had the biggest percent differance, as she was nearly 2% ahead of Lotte Friis in the 1500 freestyle. But Italian Simona Quadarell delivered a European record in the 1500 freestyle at Worlds, her time of 15:31.79 a seven-second improvement over Friis’ best.
The closest event is the 100 backstroke, where American Regan holds the world record at 57.13. However, she is closely followed by Aussie Kaylee McKeown, who won gold at the World Champs in the event, going 57.16 to scare Smith’s standard. The difference between the women’s times in the 100 backstroke is a scant .05%.
Hope you enjoy this look at the world records and how, in some instances, they hold significant superiority over the No. 2 individual in history.
