Inge Sørensen, later Inge Tabur, sometimes known as "Lille henrivende Inge" was a Danish swimmer, who at age 12 won a bronze medal in 200 meter breaststroke at the 1936 Summer Olympics in Berlin. This makes her the youngest Olympic medal winner in an individual competition.
Penelope ("Penny") Heyns OIS is a South African former swimmer, who is best known for being the only woman in the history of the Olympic Games to have won both the 100 m and 200 m breaststroke events – at the 1996 Atlanta Olympic Games – making her South Africa's first post-apartheid Olympic gold medallist following South Africa's re-admission to the Games in 1992. Along with Australian champion Leisel Jones, Heyns is regarded as one of the greatest breaststroke swimmers.
The Netherlands competed at the 1968 Summer Olympics in Mexico City, Mexico. 107 competitors, 82 men and 25 women, took part in 52 events in 11 sports.
Ute Geweniger is a former breaststroke and medley swimmer who was a leading member of the East German swimming team in the 1980s. She won two Olympic gold medals, in the 100 m breaststroke and 4×100 m medley relay at the 1980 Summer Olympics in Moscow, and set seven individual and two relay world records. She was named by Swimming World Magazine as World Swimmer of the Year in 1983 and as the European Swimmer of the Year in 1981 and 1983.
Silke Hörner is a German former breaststroke swimmer, a leading member of the 1980s East German swimming team. She won two Olympic gold medals, in the 200 m breaststroke and 4×100 m medley relay at the 1988 Summer Olympics in Seoul, and set four individual world records. She was named by Swimming World Magazine as European Swimmer of the Year in 1985 and 1987, but her achievements are regarded with suspicion due to the state-run systematic doping program run by East Germany. In 1991, former East German swimming coach Michael Regner claimed that in the 1980s he had been instructed to distribute anabolic steroids to team swimmers, including Hörner.
Klena ("Klenie") Geertje Bimolt is a former breaststroke swimmer from the Netherlands, who won the silver medal in the 4 × 100 medley relay at the 1964 Summer Olympics. She did so together with her team mates Corrie Winkel, Ada Kok and Erica Terpstra. The same year, she helped the Dutch team to set the world record in the same event. Bimolt also competed at the 1968 Summer Olympics in the 4 × 100 medley relay, but finished seventh. She won two silver medals at the 1962 European Aquatics Championships
Beverley Joy Whitfield was an Australian breaststroke swimmer of the 1970s, who won a gold medal in the 200-metre breaststroke at the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich. She was coached by Terry Gathercole and Don Talbot.
Ian Lovett O'Brien is an Australian breaststroke swimmer of the 1960s who won the 200 metre breaststroke at the 1964 Summer Olympics in Tokyo in world record time. He won five Commonwealth Games gold medals and claimed a total of nine individual and six relay titles at the Australian Championships, before retiring at the age of 21 due to financial pressures.
Catharine Ball Condon, née Catharine Northcutt Ball, is an American former competition swimmer, Olympic champion, and former world record-holder in three events. At the 1968 Summer Olympics, she won a gold medal as a member of the winning U.S. 4×100-meter medley relay team. Ball is a former world record holder in the 100-meter and 200-meter breaststroke events, and is remembered as a teenage star who was the dominant female breaststroke swimmer of her generation.
Yuliya Andreyevna Yefimova is a Russian competitive swimmer. She is the Russian record holder in the 200 metre individual medley, 50 metre breaststroke, 100 metre breaststroke, and 200 metre breaststroke. After making her Olympic debut in 2008, she went on to win the bronze medal in the 200 metre breaststroke in 2012, and silver medals in the 100 metre and 200 metre breaststroke in 2016. She is a six-time World Champion, winning the 50 metre breaststroke in 2009 and 2013, the 100 metre breaststroke in 2015, and the 200 metre breaststroke in 2013, 2017, and 2019. In 2019, she became the first woman to win the 200 metre breaststroke at a FINA World Aquatics Championships three times. She is a former world record holder in the long course 50 metre breaststroke. She has won 109 medals, including 48 gold medals, at Swimming World Cups.
Jessica Adele Hardy Meichtry is an American competitive swimmer who specializes in breaststroke and freestyle events. Hardy earned a bronze medal in the 4×100-meter freestyle and a gold medal in the 4×100-meter medley relays at the 2012 Summer Olympics.
Sharon Lynn Wichman, also known her married name Sharon Jones, is an American former competition swimmer and Olympic champion.
Galina Nikolayevna Prozumenshchikova was a Soviet breaststroke swimmer who also competed in medley relays. She won five Olympic medals in 1964, 1968 and 1972 and five European Championships medals in 1966 and 1970. Her first Olympic medal, the gold in 200 m breaststroke in 1964, was the first Olympic gold in swimming for the Soviet Union. From 1964 to 1966, she set five world records: four in 200 m and one in 100 m breaststroke events. Between 1963 and 1972, she won 15 national titles and set 27 national records.
The women's 100 metre breaststroke event at the 1968 Summer Olympics took place between 18 and 19 October. This swimming event used the breaststroke. Because an Olympic size swimming pool is 50 metres long, this race consisted of two lengths of the pool. This was the first appearance for this event in the Olympics for the women swimmers.
Rūta Meilutytė is a Lithuanian swimmer. An Olympic gold medalist, she is a world record holder in the short course 50 metre breaststroke and 100 metre breaststroke. She is a former world record holder in the long course 50 metre breaststroke and 100 metre breaststroke.
Svetlana Viktorovna Babanina is a retired Soviet swimmer who competed at the 1964 and 1968 Summer Olympics. In 1964, she won bronze medals in the 4 × 100 m medley relay and 200 m individual breaststroke, whereas in 1968 she finished in seventh and sixth place in the 100 m and 200 m breaststroke, respectively. Babanina won the 200 m event at the 1965 Universiade; she competed at the European Championships in 1962 and 1966, but did not medal. Domestically she won five titles: in the 400 m individual medley, 4 × 100 m freestyle relay (1963) and 100 m and 200 m breaststroke (1964). In 1964–1965 she set two world records in the 100 m breaststroke.
Rikke Møller Pedersen is a Danish competitive swimmer specialising in breaststroke and from 2013 to 2021 world record holder in the 200 m breaststroke (2:19.11).
Diana Adrienne Harris, also known by her married name Diana Mantoura, is a retired English international swimmer.
Lillia Camille King is an American swimmer who specializes in breaststroke. She currently represents the Cali Condors, a team that is part of the International Swimming League. At the 2016 Summer Olympics, she won the gold medal in the 100-meter breaststroke competition and also won a gold medal in the 4x100 meter medley relay, in which she swam the breaststroke leg. At the 2020 Summer Olympics, King won a silver medal in the 4x100 meter medley relay for her efforts in the prelims, the silver medal in the 200-meter breaststroke, and the bronze medal in the 100-meter breaststroke. She is the current world record holder in the long course 100-meter breaststroke.
Annie Lazor is an American competitive swimmer. She competed at the 2020 Summer Olympics, where she won the bronze medal in the 200 m breaststroke.
