World Record Recap: 17 Global Standards Have Been Set This Year; How Many More Will Fall? (Full List)
With the final leg of the World Cup beginning later this week and the World Short Course Championships scheduled for early December, the likelihood of additional world records during the 2026 campaign is high. Already this year, the sport has witnessed 17 global standards – 13 in the long-course pool and four in short-course competition. The latest world mark was set last weekend, when Japan’s Tomoyuki Matsushita blistered a 3:54.33 performance in the short-course version of the 400 individual medley.
Back in July, Canadian Summer McIntosh took down one of the stingiest world records of all-time. With an outing of 2:01.65 in the 200 butterfly, the multi-time Olympic champion cracked the 2:01.81 that China’s Liu Zige registered in 2009, at the height of the super-suit era. Meanwhile, Kate Douglass has broken the world record in the 50 freestyle on three occasions, including a mind-boggling swim of 23.19 for gold at the Pan Pacific Championships.
On the men’s side, Germany’s Johannes Liebmann put on a show in the 1500 freestyle at the European Championships. The 19-year-old produced a mark of 14:26.79 to cut more than three seconds off the previous world record, which belonged to American Bobby Finke. At the Asian Games, 17-year-old Japanese phenom Shin Ohashi went 2:04.83 in the 200 breaststroke to become the first athlete to go sub-2:05.
With a little more than two months remaining in the season, here is a look at the world records that have been set in 2026:
Women’s World Records (Long Course)
50 Freestyle
- Kate Douglass (United States) – 23.59
Date: June 19, 2026 - Gretchen Walsh (United States) – 23.55
Date: June 28, 2026 - Kate Douglass (United States) – 23.49
Date: August 15, 2026 - Kate Douglass (United States) – 23.19
Date: August 15, 2026
100 Freestyle
- Marrit Steenbergen (Netherlands) – 51.68
Date: June 27, 2026
50 Backstroke
- Sara Curtis (Italy) – 26.63
Date: August 12, 2026 - Sara Curtis (Italy) – 26.56
Date: August 13, 2026
100 Butterfly
- Gretchen Walsh (United States) – 54.33
Date: May 2, 2026
200 Butterfly
- Summer McIntosh (Canada) – 2:01.65
Date: July 5, 2026
Men’s World Records (Long Course)
50 Freestyle
- Cam McEvoy (Australia) – 20.88
Date: March 20, 2026
1500 Freestyle
- Johannes Liebmann (Germany) – 14:26.79
Date: August 15, 2026
200 Breaststroke
- Shin Ohashi (Japan) – 2:04.83
Date: September 24, 2026
Mixed World Records (Long Course)
- USA 400 Medley Relay (Modglin, Mathias, Walsh, Douglass) – 3:36.70
Date: August 12, 2026
Women’s World Records (Short Course)
None
Men’s World Records (Short Course)
100 Freestyle
- Egor Kornev (Russia) – 44.84
Date: October 2, 2026
50 Backstroke
- Pieter Coetze (South Africa) – 22.09
Date: October 9, 2026
50 Butterfly
- Egor Kornev (Russia) – 21.28
Date: October 10, 2026
400 Individual Medley
- Tomoyuki Matsushita (Japan) – 3:54.33
Date: October 11, 2026