Athens
Alfréd Hajós and the first Olympic swims
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Five questions. One historic Games.
Every swimmer starts with the same questions. No timer. No age locks. Earn 20 points per correct answer; 80% earns mastery. Review every explanation, then return to improve your best.
Use a nickname and SAVE before playing. Best scores are saved on this browser and device, separately for each nickname; they are practice results, not verified athlete records.
Olympic Swimming Through the Years
Explore the champions and changes that shaped the sport, with a timeline from 1896 to 2024 and dated medal references.
Choose your Olympic year.
Paris
Fred Lane and an unusual race
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St. Louis
Frank Gailey and races in yards
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London
Frank Beaurepaire begins his Olympic story
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Stockholm
Fanny Durack makes history
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Antwerp
Duke Kahanamoku returns to the top
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Paris
Boy Charlton and distance freestyle
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Amsterdam
Johnny Weissmuller before Hollywood
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Los Angeles
Buster Crabbe wins distance gold
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Berlin
Percy Oliver and Olympic traditions
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London
John Marshall’s two freestyle medals
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Helsinki
John Davies wins breaststroke gold
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Melbourne
Murray Rose’s golden treble
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Rome
Dawn Fraser defends her title
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Tokyo
Dawn Fraser’s three consecutive titles
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Mexico City
Michael Wenden wins the sprint double
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Munich
Mark Spitz and seven gold medals
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Montreal
Stephen Holland and distance freestyle
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Moscow
Michelle Ford wins distance gold
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Los Angeles
Jon Sieben’s butterfly upset
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Seoul
Duncan Armstrong’s freestyle breakthrough
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Barcelona
Kieren Perkins and the 1500
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Atlanta
Amy Van Dyken’s four gold medals
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Sydney
Ian Thorpe’s opening-night double
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Athens
Ian Thorpe’s freestyle double
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Beijing
Michael Phelps wins eight gold medals
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London
Michael Phelps adds six medals
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Rio de Janeiro
Kyle Chalmers wins sprint gold
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Tokyo
Emma McKeon at the postponed Games
Tokyo 2020 · held in 2021Best —
Paris
Léon Marchand’s four individual golds
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Why are some years missing?
1916 was cancelled during World War I. The 1940 and 1944 Games were cancelled during World War II. These years have no Olympic swimming results and are not presented as held competitions.
The 1906 Intercalated Games are not counted as an official Summer Olympic edition. Future editions will be added after their races take place.
Bring the story to practice.
Pick one swimmer or race you want to learn more about. Ask your coach what that achievement can teach you about preparation, teamwork or racing.
Historic facts have source links in each game. This is an independent TEAMGOLDUSA learning collection.