After two weeks of competition, the 2023 World Aquatics Championships came to an end on Sunday, July 30. The U.S. team finished the pool meet with 38 medals (7g, 20s, 11b) – 13 more than any other competing federation. Australia finished with 25 medals and China won 16. USA Swimming (1082 points) outscored Australia (804 points) and China (574 points) for the final scoring tally, earning Team of the Meet distinction.

Hunter Amstrong (50m backstroke), Ryan Murphy (100m backstroke), Kate Douglass (200m IM) and Katie Ledecky (800m freestyle, 1500m freestyle) won World titles in their respective events.

The men’s 4x100 medley relay – Murphy (52.04), Nic Fink (58.03), Dare Rose (50.13) and Jack Alexy (47.00) – won gold in a championship record time of 3:27.20. Prelim swimmers Armstrong (52.45), Josh Matheny (59.12), Thomas Heilman (51.61) and Matt King (47.33) also earn medals.

The women’s 4x100 medley relay final – Regan Smith (57.68), Lilly King (1:04.93), Gretchen Walsh (57.06) and Douglass (52.41) – also won gold, combining for a time of 3:52.08. Prelim swimmers Katharine Berkoff (58.56), Lydia Jacoby (1:07.73), Torri Huske (57.42) and Abbey Weitzeil (52.60) also earn medals.

Medals

• Of the 48 swimming competitors, 39 won medals (individual events and relays). Of the 39 medal winners, 21 athletes won multiple medals.
• Kate Douglass: tied for the most medals (six) by a female swimmer at the 2023 World Championships
  
  • Gold – 200m IM, 4x100m medley relay; Silver – 200m breaststroke, 4x100m freestyle relay, mixed 4x100m freestyle relay: Bronze – mixed 4x100m medley relay
• Katie Grimes: Won bronze in the open water 10K, earning automatic qualification for the 2024 Paris Olympic Games; she is the fourth American woman ever to qualify for the Olympics in an open water event.
• Katie Ledecky: most individual World Championships gold medals (16); five consecutive World titles in the 1500m freestyle; six consecutive World titles in the 800m freestyle; is the first swimmer to win five titles in two different events (800m freestyle, 1500m freestyle)
• Regan Smith: one of four American women ever to medal in four individual events at the same World Championships meet; joins Katie Ledecky (2x), Shirley Babashoff and Tracy Caulkins
  
  • Silver – 50m backstroke, 100m backstroke, 200m backstroke; Bronze – 200m butterfly

Relays

• The U.S. earned podium finishes in all seven of the Olympic relay events, earning automatic qualification to the 2024 Paris Olympic Games.
  
  • Olympic relay events: Women’s 4x100m freestyle relay, 4x200m freestyle relay, 4x100m medley relay; Men’s 4x100m freestyle relay, 4x200m freestyle relay, 4x100m medley relay; Mixed: 4x100m medley relay
• Of the eight relays contested at the World Championships – the seven Olympic relay events and the mixed 4x100m freestyle relay – the U.S. earned medals in all eight, including golds in the men’s and women’s 4x100m medley relays to end the competition.

Records

• American Record: Regan Smith, 50m backstroke, 27.10; broke Katharine Berkoff’s previous record of 27.12, set on April 28, 2022
• American Record: Bobby Finke, 800m freestyle, 7:38.67; bested his previous American record of 7:39.36
• American Record: Bobby Finke, 1500m freestyle, 14:31.59; shaved over five seconds off his previous time of 14:36.70
• Championship Record: men’s 4x100m medley relay, 3:27.20
  
  • Ryan Murphy (52.04), Nic Fink (58.03), Dare Rose (50.13), Jack Alexy (47.00)
  • The previous record was 3:27.28 set on Aug. 2, 2009 (Piersol, Shanteau, Phelps, Walters)
    Notables
• For the first time since 2016, USA Swimming advanced two finalists in 20 of the Olympic events contested at the World Championships.
• The U.S. was the only federation with two 1-2 finishes.
  
  • Women’s 200m IM: Kate Douglass (gold), Alex Walsh (silver)
  • Men’s 50m backstroke: Hunter Armstrong (gold), Justin Ress (silver)
• The U.S. roster included 22 World Championships rookies, five of whom won individual event medals: Lydia Jacoby (bronze, 100m breaststroke), Gretchen Walsh (bronze, 50m butterfly), Jack Alexy (silver, 50m freestyle and 100m freestyle), Matt Fallon (bronze, 200m breaststroke), Dare Rose (bronze, 100m butterfly)
• 17 World Championships rookies won medals as members of relays (prelim or final).
• The U.S roster included eight athletes still in high school – three (Erin Gemmell, Alex Shackell, Bella Sims) swam on final relays, two (Thomas Heilman, Henry McFadden) swam on prelim relays. Six of the eight earned medals, including one individual event medal (Katie Grimes, silver, 400m individual medley).