By Madeline Folsom on SwimSwam
Welcome to the SwimSwam Top 100 Swimmers of 2026: Women’s Edition. This is our outlook on the top 100 swimmers to watch globally in 2026.
Like most non-Olympic even-numbered years, the world of swimming will be scattered across the globe, with no real single meet to weigh the medals from most. That means times will rule the day in the 2026 rankings, which makes some things easier and some things harder.
The principles for ranking:
Trajectory Age Performance in 2023-2024-2025 (more recent results weighted more heavily) Anomalies to trajectories (one bad year doesn’t mean a swimmer isn’t still one of the best in the world, if it was pretty isolated or illness may have impacted performance) Versatility. A swimmer who might be #3 in the world in three events could leap a one-trick pony who is #1 or #2 in their best event and outside the top 10 in their next-best event. Competitive Atmosphere. A swimmer ranked #9 in the world in a more competitive event could be ranked higher than a finalist in a less competitive event.We start with data, and then debate, massage, re-rank, re-rank again, and eventually wind up with some vision of a top 100 that makes sense to our collective hivemind.
Note: we’ve excluded swimmers who have no sign of being in the pool in 2026, and hedged on others like Sarah Sjostrom that we expect to be back but don’t really know how they’ll be. These ranks always wind up a bit wonky because there’s so much opacity to the situations.
Women’s Rankings
#100 – #91 #90 – #81 #80 — #71 #70 — #61 #60 — #51#50 Simone Manuel, United States (2025 Rank: 88) – Manuel returned to the upper echelon of competitive swimming in 2024, qualifying for the Olympic Games in the 400 freestyle relay and as an individual in the 50 free. After winning two silver medals at the Olympics, Manuel seems to be refreshed in her swimming journey and had a huge 2025 that saw her jump 30 spots in the rankings despite not earning an individual event at Worlds. Manuel has become a linchpin for the American relays, and she has proven time and again that she can step up when it matters most. In Singapore, she swam on every single relay she was eligible for as either a prelims or finals swimmer. Her fastest relay split came from the mixed 400 free relay where she was 52.67 to help the Americans qualify 1st overall. She had strong performances at the U.S. Nationals in June, swimming 24.39 in the 50 to rank 9th in the world and 52.83 in the 100 to rank 7th. Manuel also had a breakthrough in the 200 free in December, swimming 1:56.66 to win by nearly a second, just missing her lifetime best of 1:56.09 that she swam leading off the 800 free relay at the 2019 Worlds. Manuel’s biggest challenges in 2026, and for the remainder of her career, will be the strength of American sprinting.
#49 Kasia Wasick, Poland (2025 Rank: 48) – Wasick, who will turn 34 this year, won her first ever European Championships individual gold medal in the 50 freestyle at the 2025 SC Euros. Wasick was the oldest swimmer in the meet, and her final time of 23.20 won the race by two tenths in front of a home crowd in Poland. She also participated on two of Poland’s National record relays in the mixed 200 free and 200 medley relays at the meet. At the long course World Championships in Singapore, Wasick finished 8th in the 50 free, touching in 24.74, but her semifinals time of 24.19 finished the season ranked 6th in the world. Wasick also picked up her 2nd straight Triple Crown in the women’s 50 freestyle during the 2025 World Cup series in North America, continuing to demonstrate her short course prowess. Wasick will be a medal favorite in the 50 free at the 2026 SC World Championships, but she will have to hold off a pack of younger swimmers who are gunning for medals as well.
#48 Benedetta Pilato, Italy (2025 Rank: 34) – Another sprinter, Italian Benedetta Pilato picked up the bronze medal in the women’s 50 breaststroke at the World Championships in Singapore. Her final time of 30.14 was a little off her season best of 29.87 from the Mare Nostrum in Monaco which ranked 5th in the world for 2024. Pilato, who recently turned 21, only raced the 50 breaststroke internationally in 2025, but she has a lifetime best in the 100 of 1:05.44 from June of 2024 that would make her a finals and medal contender if she returns to that form during 2026. She just finished serving a 90 day suspension after an alleged unpaid purchase at the Singapore Airport which forced her to miss the SC European Championships and the Italian Championships. Regardless of her return to 100 racing, she will be a medal favorite in the 50 at this summer’s European Championships.
#47 Ellen Walshe, Ireland (2025 Rank: 81) – Last year, Ellen Walshe expanded her international schedule, adding the 200 free and 200 fly to her Irish Open lineup on top of the 100 fly, 200 IM and 400 IM. She set a new Irish Record time in the 200 free at 1:59.31, and won all five events. She raced the 200 fly, 200 IM, and 400 IM, making finals in the 200 fly and 200 IM. She finished 8th in both, missing her semifinals Irish Record times of 2:07.48 and 2:10.49. She missed the 400 IM final, finishing 9th in 4:38.72, off her Irish Record and season best time of 4:35.32 from the Pro Swim Series in Fort Lauderdale. She went on to set five more Irish Records during short course – 200 free (1:53.72), 200 fly (2:02.36), 100 IM (58.19), 200 IM (2:04.75), and 400 IM (4:22.97) – and win the SC Euros gold in the 200 fly. Walshe will benefit greatly from the format of the 2026 season, as her best events are dominated right now by athletes from outside Europe, making her a serious medal threat in multiple different events at Euros.
#46 Tes Schouten, Netherlands (2025 Rank: 21) – Tes Schouten had a very strong 2024, becoming the 10th woman to ever break the 2:20 barrier in the 200 breaststroke, swimming 2:19.81 to win the world title in Doha. She went on to win the bronze medal in the event at the Olympics, touching in 2:21.05, and seemed primed for a strong 2025 in the event. In April, Schouten withdrew from the rest of the season due to health issues. In July, she announced she was moving to Antwerp to train under Mark Faber, who has seen huge success from his athletes in 2025. The training group includes Belgian superstar Roos Vanotterdijk, who broke out in a huge way this year, fellow Dutch breaststroker Caspar Corbeau, who recently broke the SCM World Record in the 200 breaststroke, and Belgian breaststroker Florine Gaspard, who is fresh off a pair of SC Euros medals in the sprint breaststroke events. If Schouten follows in the footsteps of her training partners, she could challenge for the top of the podium in the 200 breaststroke at this summer’s Euros.
#45 Milou van Wijk, Netherlands (2025 Rank: NR) – Before this year, Dutch sprinter Milou van Wijk had never made an international final. At the 2025 World Championships in Singapore, she made two, picking up a 4th place finish in the women’s 100 free and a 5th place in the 50 free. She also helped the Dutch women pick up the bronze medal in the 400 freestyle relay with her leadoff leg. Van Wijk swam a personal best 52.91 in the event final in Singapore to break 53 seconds for the first time. This was the 9th fastest time in the world last year. In the 50 free, she swam 24.47 in the final, which was a little more than two tenths off the 24.23 she swam at the European U23 Championships in June, which finished the season tied for 7th in the world. She had similar finishes at SC Euros, finishing 6th in the 50 (23.83) and 5th in the 100 (51.89). Van Wijk is on a huge improvement curve, dropping more than six tenths in the 50 and more than a second-and-a-half in the 100 during 2025. She has some strong competition in Europe for the sprint events, but if she can continue to improve, she will be a medal threat in both the 50 and the 100.
#44 Daria Klepikova, Russia (2025 Rank: NR) – Klepikova, who will turn 21 later this month, had a breakout season after debuting in international competition at the 2024 SC Worlds. There, she finished 5th in the 100 free (51.62) and qualified for the final at 8th in the 100 fly (56.12) before scratching. Last year, she swam the 100 free and 100 fly at Worlds, setting new Russian Records while finishing 5th in both. In the 100 free, she swam 52.98, a three tenth drop from her pre-season best of 53.36, and finished the year ranked 10th in the world. In the 100 fly, she was 56.42 to rank 6th in the world for 2025. Before the season, she had never been under 57 seconds. In 2026, Klepikova will race at the European Championships, which Russia was just approved for competition in, and if she continues to improve, she could be a multi-event medalist.
#43 Sara Curtis, Italy (2025 Rank: NR) – Another sprinter on this portion of the list, Italy’s Sara Curtis had a strong long course, finishing the season ranked 10th in the 50 free (24.41) and 11th in the 100 free (53.01), setting new Italian Records in both. At the 2025 Worlds, she was 8th in the 100 free final and she missed the 50 free final, finishing 9th overall. Where Curtis really began to shine was at the 2025 SC Euros, after moving to Charlottesville to train with the University of Virginia, she had an explosive meet. Curtis picked up a gold medal in the 50 back final, setting a short-lived European Record time of 25.49. She also finished 2nd in the 50 free (23.41), and 3rd in the 100 free (51.26). Her 100 free was a new Italian Record time as well, taking down the mark set by Italian legend Federica Pellegrini in 2019. Her significant improvement at SC Euros points to the potential for some huge drops in long course as she will be looking to make her mark at the 2026 Euros. She also will have the opportunity to compete at the 2026 SC Worlds, and is looking like she will be a serious contender there.
#42 Yu Yiting, China (2025 Rank: 37) – Yu Yiting, who will turn 21 this year, has not been able to match the near Asian Record 2:07.75 she swam in 2023, but she is still a force in the IM events. At the 2025 Chinese national Games in November, Yu swam 2:08.30 which finished the year ranked 4th in the World. This was about two seconds faster than the 2:10.63 she swam in the event semifinal at the World Championships to finish 9th and just miss the final.The women’s 200 IM has a lot of talent, particularly at the top end, but Yu is also incredibly versatile. She finished 8th in the 100 fly at Worlds, touching in 57.36, just off her season best 56.83 from prelims which was 10th in the world. She also held a top 20 time in the 400 IM at 4:36.43 from the Chinese Nationals in September, and her 50 fly was tied for 21st in the world at 25.71. Yiting’s 2026 will rely on her ability to throw down times at meets outside of China as she tries to drop back under 2:08 in the 200 IM.
#41 Leah Shackley, United States (2025 Rank: NR) – Leah Shackley swims events that are swimming in talent, but she is nipping at the heels of the top swimmers in many of them. Shackley did not qualify for the World Championships team, missing by just one spot in the 200 back with her 3rd place finish at Nationals. Instead, she raced at the World University Games in Berlin, where she won the 50 back (27.31), 200 back (2:05.99), and 100 fly (58.16), and finished 2nd in the 100 back (59.13). She dropped in all her events except the 100 back, where her season and lifetime best came in at 58.53 from May. She held top 10 rankings in all the backstroke events, coming in at 5th in the 100 back, 4th in the 200 back, and 8th in the 50 back. Shackley’s biggest hurdle in 2026 will be earning finals swims at Pan Pacs. Her 200 backstroke from WUGs got her on the team, but she will need to battle with the other Americans in every event she swims in order to finish in the top two out of prelims.
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