Laure Manaudou is a retired French Olympic, world and European champion swimmer. She has held the world record in freestyle events between 200 and 1500 meter. She is the daughter of a French father and a Dutch mother, and she is the older sister of Florent Manaudou who is also an Olympic gold medalist swimmer.
Federica Pellegrini is an Italian retired swimmer. A native of Mirano, in the province of Venice, she holds the women's 200 meters freestyle world record, and won a gold medal at the 2008 Beijing Olympics. At the 2009 World Championships in Rome, Pellegrini became the first woman ever to break the 4-minute barrier in the 400 m freestyle with a time of 3:59.15.
Grant George Hackett OAM is an Australian swimmer, most famous for winning the men's 1500 metres freestyle race at both the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney and the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens. This achievement has led him to be regarded as one of the greatest distance swimmers in history. He also collected a gold medal in Sydney for swimming in the heats of the 4 × 200 m freestyle relay. He was well regarded for his versatility, and has held the long course world records in the 200 m, 800 m, and 1500 m freestyle events. He dominated the 1500 m event for a decade, being undefeated in the event in finals from 1996 until the 2007 World Aquatics Championships. In total, he has won 10 long-course world championship gold medals.
Hannah Stockbauer is a World Champion, Olympic and national-record holding swimmer from Germany. In 2003, she was named the female World Swimmer of the Year by Swimming World Magazine, following her winning the 400, 800 and 1500 freestyles at the 2003 World Championships.
Vladimir Valeryevich Salnikov is a Russian former freestyle swimmer who set 12 world records in the 400, 800 and 1,500 metre events. Nicknamed the "Tsar of the Pool", "Monster of the Waves" and "Leningrad Express", he was the first person to swim under fifteen minutes in the 1500 m freestyle and also the first person to swim under eight minutes in the 800 m freestyle. He was named the Male World Swimmer of the Year in 1979 and 1982 by Swimming World.
Emiliano Brembilla is a freestyle swimmer from Italy who was five-time individual European Champion, four in 400 m freestyle and one in 1500 m freestyle (1997).
Alessia Filippi is a retired Italian swimmer.
Éva Risztov is a Hungarian Olympic gold medalist female swimmer.
Gergő Szabolcs Kis is a Hungarian freestyle swimmer.
Mireia Belmonte García is a Spanish Olympic, world, and European champion swimmer. She is the world record holder in the short course 200 metre butterfly and 400 metre individual medley. Formerly, she held the world record in the short course 400 metre freestyle, 800 metre freestyle, and 1500 metre freestyle. She was the first Spanish woman to win a gold medal in swimming at an Olympic Games and is widely considered to be the greatest Spanish swimmer of all time.
Lotte Friis is a Danish competitive swimmer from Allerød Municipality.
Pál Joensen is a Faroese elite swimmer. He was born in Vágur, Suðuroy, Faroe Islands. He has won World and European Championship medals. His bronze medal in the men's 1500 metre freestyle at the 2012 FINA World Swimming Championships in Istanbul was the first medal won by a Faroese swimmer at the World Aquatic Championships.
Sharon van Rouwendaal is a Dutch swimmer and the Olympic gold medalist in the 10 km open water marathon at the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro.
Willemina Hendrika "Ineke" Tigelaar is a Dutch former freestyle swimmer who competed in the 1964 Summer Olympics. She won four medals at the 1962 European Aquatics Championships, including one gold in the 4 × 100 m freestyle relay. Between 1961 and 1964 she won six national titles in the 100 m, 400 m and 1500 m freestyle events. In 1962 and 1964 she was part of the Dutch teams that set new European records in the 4 × 100 m freestyle relay.
Boris Vasilievich Nikitin was a Soviet freestyle swimmer. He had his best achievements in the 4 × 200 m relay, in which he set a world record in 1956, and won a bronze medal at the 1956 Summer Olympics and a gold medal at the 1958 European Aquatics Championships; his team finished eighths at the 1960 Olympics. Individually, he won a European silver medal in the 400 m freestyle in 1958, but did not reach the final in that event at the 1956 Olympics.
Kathleen Genevieve Ledecky is an American competitive swimmer. She has won seven Olympic gold medals and 19 world championship gold medals, the most in history for a female swimmer. Ledecky's six individual gold medals at the Olympics, 14 individual gold medals at the World Aquatics Championships, and 22 overall medals at the World Aquatics Championships are records in women's swimming. Ledecky is the world record holder in the women's 800- and 1500-meter freestyle as well as the former world record holder in the women's 400-meter freestyle. She also holds the fastest-ever times in the women's 500-, 1000-, and 1650-yard freestyle events. She is widely regarded as one of the greatest Olympians and the greatest female swimmer of all time.
Jans Koster is a retired Dutch freestyle swimmer. She won a gold medal at the 1958 European Aquatics Championships and set two European and two world records in 1500 m in 1956–1957. On 9 March 1960 she married Ben Hulsegge.
Stephen Milne is a Scottish swimmer who competed at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
Ajna Evelin Késely is a Hungarian competitive swimmer who specializes in freestyle.
Simona Quadarella is an Italian swimmer. She specializes in long distance freestyle events. At the 2020 Summer Olympics, she won a bronze medal in Women's 800 metre freestyle, and at the 2019 World Championships in Gwangju, won the gold medal in the 1500 m freestyle, and the silver medal in the 800 m freestyle.
