= Male Athlete (n = 5)
= Female Athlete (n = 5)
Diving results not included in analysis. High School athletes recently added not yet included in analysis.
Note: Nolan “Natalie” Fahey competed in only one swim meet on the women’s team. He finished 1st in all three events he was entered in. His time of 1:47.48 in the 200yd freestyle beat the school record of 1:47.82. Because he was entered as a non-scoring member of the team, his victories and record were not official.
Tara "Lucas" Draper also competed in one men's swimming event (outside of diving). She came in last place.
| Time | Athlete | Achievements | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 4:24.06 | Katie Ledecky (2017) | American and World Record holder in 3 events, 2-time Olympian, 5 Olympic Gold medals |
| 2 | 4:28.90 | Leah Smith Virginia (2017) | Pan Pacific Swimming Championships gold medalist,Olympic gold and bronze medalist |
| 3 | 4:31.34 | Brooke Forde (2019) | National record holder in youth age group, National High School Girl's Swimmer of the Year, 4-time NCAA individual Champion |
| 4 | 4:31.90 | Cierra Runge (2015) | World Junior Swimming Championships gold medalist, Pan Pacific Swimming Championships medalist, World Aquatics Swimming Championships medalist |
| 5 | 4:32.47 | Bella Sims (2024) | Olympic medalist, World Championships medalist |
| 6 | 4:32.53 | Brittany MacLean (2014) | FINA World Junior Swimming Championships gold medalist, Canadian national record holder, 4th and 7th place at Olympics |
| 7 | 4:32.66 | Missy Johnson (2014) | Pan Pacific Swimming Championships silver medalist, 3 gold medals at 2011 World Aquatics Championships, 200 meter backstroke world record holder, 4 Olympic gold medals, American record holder in multiple events, named World Swimmer of the Year, 6 gold medals at 2013 World Championships |
| 8 | 4:32.71 | Allison Schmitt (2011) | Olympic bronze medalist |
| 9 | 4:32.87 | Rachel Stege (2024) | FINA World Junior Swimming Championships bronze medalist, Illinois high school state record holder, U.S. Open finalist |
| 10 | 4:32.89 | Ella Eastin (2019) | FINA World Swimming Championships medalist, NCAA and American record holder, NCAA national champion in two events freshman year |
| 11 | 4:32.98 | Paige Madden (2019) | Alabama high school state record holder in 7 events, |
| 12 | 4:33.07 | Sarah Henry (2013) | In high school chosen as North Carolina Swimmer of the Year four consecutive years, three-time state champion, NCAA records in two events |
| 13 | 4:33.24 | Will "Lia" Thomas (2021) | Fourth at state championships in one event, never won a conference championship title at Upenn, never qualified for the NCAA championships ... is male |
All rankings can be found at USA Swimming
Henig and Thomas both competed for three seasons against members of their own sex and one season against members of the opposite sex.
During the three years in the men’s division, Thomas was a distance swimmer, his main events being the 1000yd freestyle (18 entries) and the 500yd freestyle (14 entries). He swam distances below 500yds a total of 8 times (4 relays and 4 individual events).
In the women’s, he switched to shorter distances, swimming the 100, 200, and 400yd free, races he had never entered in collegiate men’s competition with the exception of two 200yd free entry (finishing 22nd in both). Out of his 41 races on the women’s team, he swam races 500yds or longer only 9 times.
Thomas only swam his main event, the 1000yd free, once at the beginning of the season. He also swam the 1650yd free only once. In this single race, he broke the school record, along with the meet and pool records. His 1000yd split in the 1650 race (with still another 650 yards to go) broke the school record and would have ranked him 3rd in the nation. His single race in the 1650 ranked 13th in the nation.
There were exactly 4 individual events in which Thomas did not place 1st the entire season. Two of these races were at the NCAA Div I Championship meet where he placed 8th and 5th (tie).
Due to COVID-19, Thomas sat out the 2020-2021 season. This means that after taking an entire year off of swimming, he broke the school record in his one and only 1650yd race in one of the earliest meets of the year, broke the 1000yd school record with a 1650yd split, proceeded to break records in events he had rarely or never participated in before at the collegiate level (100yd free, 200yd free), was conference champion in 4 events, qualified for nationals in 3, and became the NCAA Div I 500yd freestyle national champion.
In three years in the men’s competition, although a good swimmer, he had never won a conference championship event, qualified for nationals (the 1000yd free is not an NCAA Div I Championship event), and had broken only one pool record.
In one season of women’s swimming, he set 26 records, won a national championship title, and became the 11th fastest Division 1 NCAA 500yd Freestyle swimmer in history (now at 13th), ranking up with some of the best female swimmers of all time.