Swimming | U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Museum

Natalie Coughlin

One of the best swimmers who has ever competed for Team USA, Natalie Coughlin won 12 medals over the course of three Olympic Games (2004, 2008, 2012).

Trischa Zorn-Hudson

Swimmer Trischa Zorn-Hudson is the most successful athlete in the history of the Paralympic Games, having won 55 medals, including 41 gold medals, over seven Paralympics.

Michael Phelps

Michael Phelps, with an astounding 6 feet, 7-inch wingspan, won an Olympic record 28 medals, which included 23 golds, more than double any other Olympic athlete.

1976 Women’s Freestyle Relay Team

Acknowledged as the single greatest race in the history of women’s swimming, the women's 4x100m freestyle relay team won the only women’s swimming gold at Montreal 1976.

Erin Popovich

Swimmer Erin Popovich is a three-time Paralympian; 14 of her 19 Paralympic medals were golds. She is a two-time winner of the ESPY Award for Best Female Athlete with a Disability.

Dara Torres

Dara Torres was nicknamed "Mom" by U.S. Olympic teammates at the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games where at age 41 she set three American records in winning three silver medals.

Johnny Weissmuller

Johnny Weissmuller took up swimming in an attempt to build stamina after contracting polio as a youngster. He won five Olympic gold medals before finding Hollywood stardom.

Amy Van Dyken

Swimmer Amy Van Dyken overcame asthma to win six Olympic gold medals. In the Atlanta 1996 Olympic Games, she became the first American woman to win four gold medals in a single Olympics.

Jenny Thompson

Swimmer Jenny Thompson is the most decorated American female in Olympic history, winning 12 medals over the course of four Olympic Games: eight gold, three silver and one bronze.

After falling short of his goals at the Mexico City 1968 Olympic Games, Mark Spitz won seven gold medals in eight days at the Munich 1972 Olympic Games, setting a world record in each event he entered.

Sport: Swimming