Earlier this year, as they have done for several years, the team at SwimSwam put their heads together to compile their annual Top 100 rankings of male and female swimmers. The emphasis, as ever, leans toward what might unfold in the season ahead, with particular attention paid to emerging swimmers who are predicted make a significant leap in the coming season.
As always, the exercise is inherently subjective—though with Léon Marchand and Summer McIntosh at the head of the lists once again there tends to be broad agreement for the very top at least. With that subjectivity firmly in mind, it remains an interesting exercise to revisit the lists through a British lens, considering how the GB cohort is viewed from the outside and what it says about the current state of British swimming as we head into the defining months of 2026.
This year there has been a reasonable turnover of British swimmers in the list since last year, which given an under par showing at last years world championships might be expected, but there is still consistency to be found.
The Men
Four out and three in amongst the men, with Filip Nowacki jumping straight to the top of the GB tree after a breakthrough season in 2025. Duncan Scott maintains his record of placing in every list that has been published, along with Adam Ramsay-Peaty, even if at 35 and 68 these represent their lowest placings. Ollie Morgan makes a deserved return at 49 after his surprise omission last year while Jack McMillan is the second debutant in this year’s crop reflecting his increasing prominence in a packed GB freestyle pool.
Of the leavers, there is clearly no surprise to see Ben Proud gone, while Tom Dean, Max Litchfield and James Guy all had comparably quiet years on the international stage last year, but all would be expecting to deliver more in 2026.
| Swimmer | 2026 | 2025 | 2024 | 2023 | 2022 | 2021 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Filip Nowacki | 31 | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| Duncan Scott | 35 | 17 | 15 | 18 | 7 | 12 | ↓ 18 |
| Ollie Morgan | 49 | – | 73 | – | – | – | – |
| Matt Richards | 50 | 31 | 14 | 63 | – | – | ↓ 19 |
| Jack McMillan | 58 | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| Adam Ramsay-Peaty | 68 | 28 | 64 | 14 | 2 | 2 | ↓ 40 |
| Ben Proud | – | 33 | 32 | 29 | 52 | 53 | – |
| Tom Dean | – | 50 | 10 | 22 | 14 | 65 | – |
| Max Litchfield | – | 93 | – | – | 72 | 56 | – |
| James Guy | – | 100 | – | – | 92 | 41 | – |
The Women
There is bigger turnover amongst the GB women, as three swimmers drop out and only one is added compared to last year. Angharad Evans and Freya Colbert swap spots at the head of the pack, with Evans the only returning GB swimmer to improve their position from last year. That pair have already been showing their class in 2026, with a British Record over 200 free for Colbert posted in Edinburgh, and there promises to be much more from them.
Behind them Lauren Cox returns off the back of her 50m backstroke prowess at World Championships, while Abbie Wood maintains her streak of appearing in every list to date. There is also a debut appearance for Amalie Smith, a swimmer who cut swathes through the junior ranks last year and has a big 2026 in prospect, especially over 400IM.
Of those who dropped out, Freya Anderson and Katie Shanahan did not have the world champs they would have wanted in 2025 , while Amelie Blocksidge didn’t make a significant mark in senior waters despite continuing to excel in the junior field. There is scope for all three to play a significant part in Glasgow this year.
| Swimmer | 2026 | 2025 | 2024 | 2023 | 2022 | 2021 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Angharad Evans | 35 | 45 | – | – | – | – | ↑ 10 |
| Freya Colbert | 53 | 41 | 52 | – | – | – | ↓ 12 |
| Lauren Cox | 69 | – | 53 | – | – | – | |
| Abbie Wood | 82 | 47 | 89 | 66 | 32 | 85 | ↓ 35 |
| Amalie Smith | 95 | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| Freya Anderson | – | 62 | 81 | 62 | 66 | 40 | – |
| Katie Shanahan | – | 79 | 46 | 92 | 91 | – | – |
| Amelie Blocksidge | – | 80 | 95 | – | – | – | – |
What does this tell us? Well not a lot really. With no global championships this year there are instead two championship opportunities in Glasgow and Paris for Britain’s swimmers to demonstrate they should have been higher, with a first chance to make a case at the British Championships next week. Come the end of the year though it will of course be the Commonwealth and European medal hauls that will define 2026 and will show if SwimSwam’s crystal ball is in need of a polish or not.
Check out the full lists on Swimswam
Banner Image: Istvan Derencsenyi/European Aquatics