{"id":445762,"date":"2020-09-04T11:20:20","date_gmt":"2020-09-04T18:20:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/?p=445762"},"modified":"2020-09-04T11:20:20","modified_gmt":"2020-09-04T18:20:20","slug":"who-is-the-greatest-female-swimmer-here-are-some-reader-opinions","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/who-is-the-greatest-female-swimmer-here-are-some-reader-opinions\/","title":{"rendered":"Who is the Greatest Female Swimmer? Here Are Some Reader Opinions"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong>Who is the Greatest Female Swimmer? Here Are Some Reader Opinions<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Several days ago, we posed the question: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/last-call-for-answers-who-is-the-greatest-female-swimmer-in-history-your-choice-is-difficult\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Who is the greatest female swimmer in history?<\/a> While the choice on the men&#8217;s side is simple, with Michael Phelps the lone option, several women have an argument for the top of the pedestal. When we asked the question, we provided six primary options (<strong>Tracy Caulkins<\/strong>, <strong>Janet Evans<\/strong>, <strong>Krisztina Egerszegi<\/strong>, <strong>Dawn Fraser<\/strong>, <strong>Shane Gould<\/strong> and <strong>Katie<\/strong> <strong>Ledecky<\/strong>), but indicated readers could suggest additional candidates.<\/p>\n<p>Not surprising, votes were cast and arguments were made for all of the names mentioned, and a few more. While Caulkins and Ledecky received the most support, it was interesting to read the responses and thoughts of the readership on this topic. As promised, here are a few of the comments that were submitted.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"color: #ff0000;\"><em>Tracy Caulkins. Hands down! She excelled at all for strokes plus the I M. She could Sprint and win at distance also. The boycott ruined her chances at Olympic excellence.\n<p><\/em><\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"color: #0000ff;\"><em>Arguments can be made for several individuals. (Mary T. Meagher\u2019s fly records are outrageously amazing, but that is only one event. Tracy Caulkins&#8217; accomplishments in all strokes and various distances certainly gets my vote. World, American, and U.S. Open records in all four strokes may never be equaled again. NUFF SAID!\n<p><\/em><\/span><\/li>\n<li><em><span style=\"color: #008000;\">Janet Evans. Many forget she could crush the 400 IM as well as the distance freestyles. Some of her records stood over 20 years. And\u2026 no fast suits back then.<\/span>\n<p><\/em><\/li>\n<li><em><span style=\"color: #ff0000;\">Tracy Caulkins. Great in all strokes and missed out on opportunity to win medals at the boycotted <a href=\"https:\/\/www.olympic.org\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Olympics<\/a> in 1980. Also disadvantaged in the rankings due to more opportunities for longevity in the sport that current swimmers can benefit from.<\/span>\n<p><\/em><\/li>\n<li><em><span style=\"color: #0000ff;\">Definitely Dawn Fraser. Winning 100m freestyle at three consecutive Olympics is something no other swimmer has been able to do. To be top for 12 years is phenomenal!<\/span>\n<p><\/em><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<div id=\"attachment_384328\" style=\"width: 314px\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-384328\" data-attachment-id=\"384328\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/katie-ledecky-makes-the-memory-that-will-fuel-her-to-tokyo-2020-in-epic-800m-with-simone-quadarella\/katieledecky2-2\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/vmrw8k5h.tinifycdn.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/katieledecky2.jpg\" data-orig-size=\"800,544\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;PATRICK B. KRAEMER&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;Katie Ledecky of the United States of America (USA) reacts after winning in the women\\u2019s 800m Freestyle Final during the Swimming events at the Gwangju 2019 FINA World Championships, Gwangju, South Korea, 27 July 2019.&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;0&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"katieledecky2\" data-image-description=\"&lt;p&gt;6-23-20&lt;br \/&gt;\nKatie Ledecky of the United States of America (USA) reacts after winning in the women\u2019s 800m Freestyle Final during the Swimming events at the Gwangju 2019 FINA World Championships, Gwangju, South Korea, 27 July 2019.&lt;\/p&gt;\n\" data-image-caption=\"&lt;p&gt;Katie Ledecky &#8211; Photo Courtesy: Patrick B. Kraemer&lt;\/p&gt;\n\" data-medium-file=\"https:\/\/vmrw8k5h.tinifycdn.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/katieledecky2-700x500.jpg\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/vmrw8k5h.tinifycdn.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/katieledecky2.jpg\" class=\" wp-image-384328\" src=\"https:\/\/vmrw8k5h.tinifycdn.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/katieledecky2-700x500.jpg\" alt=\"Katie Ledecky of the United States of America (USA) reacts after winning in the women\u2019s 800m Freestyle Final during the Swimming events at the Gwangju 2019 FINA World Championships, Gwangju, South Korea, 27 July 2019.\" width=\"304\" height=\"217\" \/><p id=\"caption-attachment-384328\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Katie Ledecky &#8211; Photo Courtesy: Patrick B. Kraemer<\/p><\/div>\n<ul>\n<li><em><span style=\"color: #008000;\">Katie Ledecky. Base it on breadth of her career, multiple outstanding Olympic and World Champs meet performances combined with year-to-year consistency, dominance of swims, and unmatched depth of historical top times in multiple events. She won 25 international gold medals in her first 27 international finals with more than a dozen world records. Almost a decade in, she is still putting up top times in the world in four events and has \u201ceight-peated\u201d internationally in the 800 Free.<\/span>\n<p><\/em><\/li>\n<li><em><span style=\"color: #ff0000;\">I would say Ledecky by a mile (no pun intended), and still rolling. Gould had an abbreviated career, of her own choosing, Caulkins admittedly had some inconsistent rough patches. Ledecky put Evans\u2019 and other records deep in the rearview mirror and has been the most dominant female swimmer in the sport ever. By my count, she has only missed the top step of the podium three times internationally in individual events over nine years, swimming four different events in an era of specialization and greater participation. Five-time female World Swimmer of Year and four years in a row at one point; no one else has done that.<\/span>\n<p><\/em><\/li>\n<li><em><span style=\"color: #0000ff;\">Tracy Caulkins. She could swim everything! I remember her breaking the American record in the 500 free at East L.A. Nationals and some ladies on our team saying why doesn\u2019t she stick to her own events?<\/span>\n<p><\/em><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<div id=\"attachment_399506\" style=\"width: 275px\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-399506\" data-attachment-id=\"399506\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/national-treasure-dawn-fraser-named-42nd-swimming-australia-life-member\/e9c7a083bb9eddfa469eace6f249ffc8\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/vmrw8k5h.tinifycdn.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/e9c7a083bb9eddfa469eace6f249ffc8.jpeg\" data-orig-size=\"1024,768\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;0&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"Dawn Fraser\" data-image-description=\"&lt;p&gt;Dawn Fraser &#8211; a proud Australian.&lt;\/p&gt;\n\" data-image-caption=\"&lt;p&gt;Dawn Fraser &#8211; Photo Courtesy: Dawn Fraser Collection&lt;\/p&gt;\n\" data-medium-file=\"https:\/\/vmrw8k5h.tinifycdn.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/e9c7a083bb9eddfa469eace6f249ffc8-700x500.jpeg\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/vmrw8k5h.tinifycdn.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/e9c7a083bb9eddfa469eace6f249ffc8-1024x768.jpeg\" class=\" wp-image-399506\" src=\"https:\/\/vmrw8k5h.tinifycdn.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/e9c7a083bb9eddfa469eace6f249ffc8-700x500.jpeg\" alt=\"Olympic gold and a Kangaroo in her pouch\" width=\"265\" height=\"189\" \/><p id=\"caption-attachment-399506\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Dawn Fraser &#8211; Photo Courtesy: Dawn Fraser Collection<\/p><\/div>\n<ul>\n<li><em><span style=\"color: #008000;\">Dawn Fraser. Winning 100 free at three consecutive Olympics &amp; would have had a good chance of making it four, if she hadn\u2019t been banned! At her first two Olympics there were only five women\u2019s events \u2013 so not much chance of winning multiple medals. If there had been 50 free she would probably won another three gold medals.<\/span>\n<p><\/em><\/li>\n<li><em><span style=\"color: #ff0000;\">By combining all of the same objective measures for women used to bestow acclaim on Phelps on the male side\u2013Olympic and Worlds performance, World Records, individual intl victories\/medals, top 25 LCM times, win percentage, length of career, dominance of victories measured by times, distance placed between top competitors and level of competition faced, intl event win repeats and consistency, World SOY awards\u2013it\u2019s Ledecky.<\/span>\n<p><\/em><\/li>\n<li><em><span style=\"color: #0000ff;\">Tracy Caulkins. At one point she held an American record in every stroke and nearly every distance. She was Phelps before Phelps. She won 12 NCAA titles in 3 years. She survived a boycott and swam into her 20s which was UNHEARD of in the 1980s. She is humble and was the torch bearer for the sport. Versatile, profilic and captain of the Olympic team.<\/span>\n<p><\/em><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"color: #008000;\"><em>Shane Gould. Held every world freestyle record, 100 through 1500 and the world 200 IM record simultaneously.<\/em><\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Who is the Greatest Female Swimmer? Here Are Some Reader Opinions Several days ago, we posed the question: Who is the greatest female swimmer in history? While the choice on<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7533,"featured_media":409572,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"dois","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[3,10],"tags":[127,111,25031,6249,951,2455,272],"class_list":["post-445762","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-featured","category-world","tag-dawn-fraser","tag-janet-evans","tag-katie-ledecky","tag-krisztina-egerszegi","tag-mary-t-meagher","tag-shane-gould","tag-tracy-caulkins"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v24.3 (Yoast SEO v24.3) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\r\n<title>Who is the Greatest Female Swimmer? 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