Can Ahmed Jaouadi, Sam Short and Bobby Finke Lead Assault on Vaunted 800 Freestyle World Record?
For almost 17 years, the world record in the men’s 800 freestyle has stood as an impossible challenge for the world’s best distance swimmers. China’s Zhang Lin achieved the mark of 7:32.12 at the 2009 World Championships, a meet where near-universal use of full-body polyurethane suits contributed to the demolition of 42 world records. None were more stunning than this 800-meter effort as Zhang obliterated the previous mark held by Grant Hackett by an incredible 6.53 seconds. Silver medalist Ous Mellouli also finished more than three seconds under the previous mark.
Following the banning of those supersuits on January 1, 2010, swimmers spent years chipping away at the suit-aided times. Many men’s records proved especially tough to reach; of the five long course freestyle records established in 2009, all survived until at least 2022, and the times in the 200 and 800-meter races still stand. It took an incredible effort from Lukas Martens to beat Paul Biedermann’s record in the 400 free last year and another from Cam McEvoy to get the job done in the 50 free earlier in 2026.
The 200 free record does not look quite so unbeatable thanks to David Popovici. But no one has come remotely close to the 800 record. Of course, that has not stopped the two most recent major champions in the event from stating their belief that it is reachable.
Daniel Wiffen (center) won gold in the 800 freestyle at the Paris Olympics, with Bobby Finke (left) taking silver and Gregorio Paltrinieri (right) bronze — Photo Courtesy: Giorgio Scala / Deepbluemedia / Insidefoto
Daniel Wiffen, the Irishman who became his country’s first Olympic champion in swimming in 2024, made his statement in advance of last year’s World Championships. ““I think that this world record is definitely the hardest to break but I believe that all world records will be broken and I’m willing to push myself to that limit to get it,” Wiffen said. “In terms of the last 100 or 50, I think I would look to be a bit ahead of the world record line just to give a little bit of leeway.”
If Wiffen ever did race under world-record pace, he would surely need more than “a little bit” of an advantage entering the last length as Zhang came home in 25.99, almost a second ahead of Wiffen’s 26.94 from the Olympic final.
Wiffen struggled at the Singapore Worlds and was succeeded as 800-meter winner by Ahmed Jaouadi, a 20-year-old from Tunisia who finished fourth in the Olympic final. Jaouadi recorded a mark of 7:36.88, more than 4.5 seconds behind the world record but sufficient to make him the third-fastest man in history behind Zhang and Mellouli, his countryman. The win boosted his confidence sufficiently to declare the record breakable in an appearance on the Social Kick podcast immediately after Worlds.
“I definitely like to think that the 800 world record is possible,” Jaouadi said. “I always thought it was possible… When I say that in front of my friends, they laugh at me. They say, ‘Ok, start swimming 7:40 first. Calm down.”
Jaouadi is currently the world’s distance king after he swept gold medals in the 800 and 1500 in Singapore, but his 1500 time of 14:34.41 is in line with the other gold-medal performances seen in recent years. At No. 6 all-time, he fits in just between Wiffen and Hackett on the all-time list, but the world record of 14:30.67 from Bobby Finke at the Paris Games is still several seconds ahead. In the 800, on the other hand, Jaouadi finished 2025 as the only active swimmer who has broken 7:37.
Sam Short — Photo Courtesy: Delly Carr / Swimming Australia
Not anymore, though, not after the huge performance from Sam Short at the Australian Trials last month. Short recorded a time of 7:36.73 to become the third-fastest man ever behind Zhang and Mellouli. Short had previously swum in the 7:37 range in 2023 before struggling in 2024 and then missing the 800 free final at the 2025 Worlds due to illness. Now, Short has joined the short list to make the jump.
In total, 15 men in history have swum under the 7:40-barrier. Just behind Jaouadi is Ahmed Hafnaoui, a third Tunisian and the 2023 world champion, at 7:37.00. Hafnaoui has been absent from international racing for the past two years, but he returned with a bang at the NCAA Championships. Sitting in the No. 5 spot is 19-year-old German Johannes Liebmann, who uncorked a stunning 7:37.94 in April to jump into contention.
Wiffen, Hackett, Finke, Germany’s Sven Schwarz and China’s Sun Yang all have best times in the 7:38-range. Finke struggled in the event at last year’s World Championships, ending up fourth as he battled illness, but he had made the podium at every major meet before that.
Martens, fellow German Florian Wellbrock, Australia’s Ian Thorpe and Italy’s Gregorio Paltrinieri sit at 7:39s. While Tunisia occupies rare territory with three of the top-four spots in the world rankings, Germany has become the dominant nation right now as Schwarz and Martens both reached the podium at last year’s Worlds before Liebmann’s breakout performance earlier this year.
Paltrinieri’s global contention in this event has spanned a decade, including a silver medal in the event in Tokyo and bronze in Paris, but it’s unclear whether the 31-year-old can keep pace with his younger competitors. Finke was the Olympic champion in Tokyo and world champion a year later, but 2025 marked a rare podium miss as he battled gastrointestinal illness at Worlds. At full health, though, few would count out Finke in a major final.
Over the next two years in the leadup to the Los Angeles Olympics, the intrigue surrounding the 800 free will focus on Jaouadi attempting to maintain his hold on the event against a strong pack of well-credentialed challengers. Wiffen will be among those back in the mix, and his race against German rivals should be one of the signature events of this year’s European Championships. But the world record still seems a long way off.