Swim Poll of the Week: What Was The Most Impressive Women’s Performance This Year?

Katie Ledecky -- Photo Courtesy: Peter H. Bick

This is the Swim Poll of the Week for Saturday, September 10, 2022, sponsored by Strechcordz Swim Training Products. In our last poll, we wanted to know: What was the most impressive performance by a female swimmer this year?

The only individual world record set by a female swimmer so far in 2022 was Ariarne Titmus’ breakthrough effort in the 400 freestyle at the Australian Championships in May. She swam a time of 3:56.40 to take down Katie Ledecky’s six-year-old record set at the Tokyo Olympics.

Titmus was absent from the World Championships in June, which left Ledecky in position to dominate yet again. She reclaimed world titles in the 400 and 1500 free, but her most impressive swim was in the 800-meter event, where she swam a time of 8:08.04, one of the quickest swims ever and better than any other swimmer in history, to secure a record-setting fifth consecutive world title.

At the Commonwealth Games, Summer McIntosh became the third-fastest woman in history in the 400 IM as she swam a time of 4:29.01 in the event. McIntosh had already become world champion in the race (as well as the 200 butterfly), but the 15-year-old’s effort in Birmingham, England, was quicker than any swim since 2016.

Finally, the Australian women’s 800 free relay team broke the world record at the Commonwealth Games. Madison Wilson, Kiah Melverton and Mollie O’Callaghan swam the first three legs before Titmus posted the quickest split in history on the anchor leg to crush the previous record set by China at last year’s Olympics.

Swim Poll of the Week: What was the most impressive performance by a female swimmer this year?

Ariarne Titmus, 400 Freestyle (3:56.40 WR) — 19.9%

Katie Ledecky, 800 Freestyle (8:08.04) — 57.2%

Summer McIntosh, 400 IM (4:29.01) — 20.3%

Australian women, 800 Freestyle Relay (7:39.29 WR) — 2.6%

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