| Swimming | |
| First event | 1965 |
|---|---|
| Occur every | four years |
| Last event | 2023 |
| Best | |
Swimming has been part of African Games since its inaugural edition in 1965 and has continued to feature prominently at the competition in each of its subsequent editions.
| Games | Year | Host city | Countries | Swimmers | Events | Best nation | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Men | Women | Total | Men | Women | Mixed | |||||
| 1 | 1965 | | — | 8 | — | — | ||||
| 2 | 1973 | | 13 | 9 | — | |||||
| 3 | 1978 | | 13 | 13 | — | |||||
| 4 | 1987 | | 16 | 16 | — | |||||
| 5 | 1991 | | 16 | 16 | — | |||||
| 6 | 1995 | | 16 | 16 | — | |||||
| 7 | 1999 | | 18 | 128 | 16 | 16 | — | |||
| 8 | 2003 | | 21 | 63 | 54 | 117 | 20 | 20 | — | |
| 9 | 2007 | | 19 | 121 | 20 | 20 | — | |||
| 10 | 2011 | | 25 | 20 | 20 | — | ||||
| 11 | 2015 | | 20 | 20 | 2 | |||||
| 12 | 2019 | | 37 | 20 | 20 | 2 | ||||
| 13 | 2023 | | 20 | 20 | 2 | |||||
As of 2023:
| Rank | Nation | Gold | Silver | Bronze | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 201 | 135 | 104 | 440 | |
| 2 | 108 | 115 | 104 | 327 | |
| 3 | 52 | 37 | 48 | 137 | |
| 4 | 36 | 58 | 74 | 168 | |
| 5 | 21 | 28 | 31 | 80 | |
| 6 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 21 | |
| 7 | 4 | 12 | 15 | 31 | |
| 8 | 3 | 4 | 3 | 10 | |
| 9 | 2 | 4 | 9 | 15 | |
| 10 | 2 | 3 | 12 | 17 | |
| 11 | 1 | 4 | 8 | 13 | |
| 12 | 1 | 1 | 6 | 8 | |
| 13 | 0 | 2 | 9 | 11 | |
| 14 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 5 | |
| 15 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 4 | |
| 16 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| 17 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | |
| 18 | 0 | 0 | 9 | 9 | |
| 19 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 5 | |
| 20 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | |
| Totals (20 entries) | 437 | 415 | 453 | 1305 | |
All records were set in finals unless noted otherwise. All times are swum in a long-course (50m) pool.
| Event | Time | Name | Nationality | Date | Meet | Location | Ref | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 50m freestyle | 22.02 | Ali Khalafalla | 13 March 2024 | 2023 African Games | Accra, Ghana | [2] | ||
| 100m freestyle | 48.97 | Oussama Sahnoune | 21 August 2019 | 2019 African Games | Casablanca, Morocco | [3] | ||
| 200m freestyle | 1:47.77 | Devon Brown | 6 September 2015 | 2015 African Games | Brazzaville, Republic of the Congo | [4] | ||
| 400m freestyle | 3:48.06 | Ahmed Akram | 9 September 2015 | 2015 African Games | Brazzaville, Republic of the Congo | [5] | ||
| 800m freestyle | 7:55.36 | Ahmed Akram | 7 September 2015 | 2015 African Games | Brazzaville, Republic of the Congo | [6] | ||
| 1500m freestyle | 15:11.68 | Ahmed Akram | 10 September 2015 | 2015 African Games | Brazzaville, Republic of the Congo | [7] | ||
| 50m backstroke | 25.26 | Mohamed Samy | 23 August 2019 | 2019 African Games | Casablanca, Morocco | [8] | ||
| 100m backstroke | 55.02 | Abdellah Ardjoune | 24 August 2019 | 2019 African Games | Casablanca, Morocco | [9] | ||
| 200m backstroke | 1:59.03 | Martin Binedell | 21 August 2019 | 2019 African Games | Casablanca, Morocco | [3] | ||
| 50m breaststroke | 27.18 | Cameron van der Burgh | 7 September 2015 | 2015 African Games | Brazzaville, Republic of the Congo | [10] | ||
| 100m breaststroke | 1:00.19 | Cameron van der Burgh | 6 September 2015 | 2015 African Games | Brazzaville, Republic of the Congo | [11] | ||
| 200m breaststroke | 2:14.21 | Alaric Basson | 23 August 2019 | 2019 African Games | Casablanca, Morocco | [12] | ||
| 50m butterfly | 23.51 | Chad le Clos | 8 September 2015 | 2015 African Games | Brazzaville, Republic of the Congo | [13] | ||
| 100m butterfly | 51.24 | Chad le Clos | 7 September 2015 | 2015 African Games | Brazzaville, Republic of the Congo | [14] | ||
| 200m butterfly | 1:56.37 | Chad le Clos | 9 September 2011 | 2011 All-Africa Games | Maputo, Mozambique | [15] [16] | ||
| 200m individual medley | 2:00.70 | Chad le Clos | 10 September 2011 | 2011 All-Africa Games | Maputo, Mozambique | [17] [18] | ||
| 400m individual medley | 4:16.88 | Chad le Clos | 6 September 2011 | 2011 All-Africa Games | Maputo, Mozambique | [19] [20] | ||
| 4×100m freestyle relay | 3:19.42 | 8 September 2011 | 2011 All-Africa Games | Maputo, Mozambique | [21] [22] | |||
| 4×200m freestyle relay | 7:18.62 |
| 8 September 2015 | 2015 African Games | Brazzaville, Republic of the Congo | [23] | ||
| 4×100m medley relay | 3:40.24 |
| 24 August 2019 | 2019 African Games | Casablanca, Morocco | [24] | ||
| Event | Time | Name | Nationality | Date | Meet | Location | Ref | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 50m freestyle | 24.72 | Farida Osman | 13 March 2024 | 2023 African Games | Accra, Ghana | [25] | ||
| 100m freestyle | 55.13 | Erin Gallagher | 21 August 2019 | 2019 African Games | Casablanca, Morocco | [3] | ||
| 200m freestyle | 1:59.84 | Karin Prinsloo | 6 September 2011 | 2011 All-Africa Games | Maputo, Mozambique | [19] [26] | ||
| 400m freestyle | 4:15.53 | Melissa Corfe | July 2007 | 2007 All-Africa Games | Algiers, Algeria | |||
| 800m freestyle | 8:43.89 | Kirsty Coventry | July 2007 | 2007 All-Africa Games | Algiers, Algeria | |||
| 1500m freestyle | 16:47.61 | Catherine van Rensburg | 9 March 2024 | 2023 African Games | Accra, Ghana | [27] | ||
| 50m backstroke | 28.76 | Caitlin de Lange | 11 March 2024 | 2023 African Games | Accra, Ghana | [28] | ||
| 100m backstroke | 1:00.86 | Kirsty Coventry | 7 September 2011 | 2011 All-Africa Games | Maputo, Mozambique | [29] | ||
| 200m backstroke | 2:10.66 | Kirsty Coventry | July 2007 | 2007 All-Africa Games | Algiers, Algeria | |||
| 50m breaststroke | 31.91 | Simone Moll | 12 March 2024 | 2023 African Games | Accra, Ghana | [30] | ||
| 100m breaststroke | 1:07.58 | Penny Heyns | September 1999 | 1999 All-Africa Games | Johannesburg, South Africa | |||
| 200m breaststroke | 2:28.00 | Penny Heyns | September 1999 | 1999 All-Africa Games | Johannesburg, South Africa | |||
| 50m butterfly | 25.94 | Farida Osman | 22 August 2019 | 2019 African Games | Casablanca, Morocco | [31] | ||
| 100m butterfly | 58.79 | Farida Osman | 23 August 2019 | 2019 African Games | Casablanca, Morocco | [32] | ||
| 200m butterfly | 2:12.46 | Mandy Loots | 10 September 2011 | 2011 All-Africa Games | Maputo, Mozambique | [17] [33] | ||
| 200m individual medley | 2:13.02 | Kirsty Coventry | July 2007 | 2007 All-Africa Games | Algiers, Algeria | |||
| 400m individual medley | 4:39.91 | Kirsty Coventry | July 2007 | 2007 All-Africa Games | Algiers, Algeria | |||
| 4×100m freestyle relay | 3:48.47 |
| 12 March 2024 | 2023 African Games | Accra, Ghana | [34] | ||
| 4×200m freestyle relay | 8:20.28 |
| 6 September 2015 | 2015 African Games | Brazzaville, Republic of the Congo | [35] | ||
| 4×100m medley relay | 4:10.90 | July 2007 | 2007 All-Africa Games | Algiers, Algeria | ||||
| Event | Time | Name | Nationality | Date | Meet | Location | Ref | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4×100m freestyle relay | 3:31.24 | AF |
| 23 August 2019 | 2019 African Games | Casablanca, Morocco | [36] | |
| 4×100m medley relay | 3:50.76 |
| 22 August 2019 | 2019 African Games | Casablanca, Morocco | [31] | ||