Top 20 Ocean Swimming Champions of All Time

Top 20 Men Long Distance Ocean Swimming Champions:

1. Thomas Laczynski (USA)
2. Craig Alexander (Australia)
3. Chad Ho (South Africa)
4. Trent Grimsey (Australia)
5. Gennadiy Timoshchenko (Ukraine)
6. Félix González (Mexico)
7. Oscar Galíndez (Argentina)
8. Mick Sayers (Australia)
9. Brett Gilliland (Australia)
10. Eddie “The Eagle” Edwards (UK)
11. François Pervis (France)
12. Benjamin Tuck (Australia)
13. Michael Spencer (Australia)
14. Ian Thorpe (Australia)
15. Jackie Cundy (UK)
16. David Meca (Spain)
17. Luis Alberto “Luigi” Finni (Italy)
18. Antony Vella (Malta)
19. Nick Adam (New Zealand)
20. Chris Bryan (USA)

Top 20 Women Ocean Swimming Champions:

1. Kathleen “Katie” Ledecky (USA)
2. Diana Nyad (USA)
3. Sarah Thomas (USA)
4. Penny Palfrey (Australia)
5. Claudia L. Zuluaga (Colombia)
6. Suzy Goodwin (New Zealand)
7. Tina Swett (USA)
8. Fanny Lethiec (France)
9. Hayley Broughton (Australia)
10. Melissa Wu (Australia)
11. Penny DeWitt (Australia)
12. Angela Maurer (Germany)
13. Kirsten Neuschäfer (South Africa)
14. Sally Minty-Gravett (UK)
15. Lizzie Freeman (USA)
16. Chloe McCardel (Australia)
17. Karen Throssell (Australia)
18. Lindsay Burwell (USA)
19. Anna Wardley (UK)
20. Kirsty Coventry (Zimbabwe)

These swimmers have made notable achievements in long-distance ocean swimming, including challenging channels, marathon swims, and endurance events.