World record progression 50 metres backstroke

This is a listing of the history of the world record for the 50 metres backstroke swimming event. Swimming world records are maintained by World Aquatics, the international sports federation which oversees the sport. World records are recognized only in long course (50m) and short course (25m). Like the 50 m breaststroke, 50 m butterfly, and the 50 m backstroke, world record status and monitoring for this event first began in the 1990s.

Graphic data for World Record Progression in Men and Women Swimming 50m-100m-200m Long and Short Course Butterfly-Backstroke-Breaststroke-Freestyle

Main article: List of world records in swimming

Men

Long course

#	Time		Name	Nationality	Date	Meet	Location	Ref
WB	25.13		Jeff Rouse	United States	15 April 1993	Robert Burns Invitational	Edinburgh, United Kingdom
1	24.99	tt	Lenny Krayzelburg	United States	28 August 1999	Pan Pacific Championships	Sydney, Australia
2	24.80		Thomas Rupprath	Germany	27 July 2003	World Championships	Barcelona, Spain
3	24.47	h, †	Liam Tancock	Great Britain	2 April 2008	British Championships	Sheffield, United Kingdom	[1]
4	24.33		Randall Bal	United States	5 December 2008	Eindhoven Cup	Eindhoven, Netherlands	[2]
5	24.08	sf	Liam Tancock	Great Britain	1 August 2009	World Championships	Rome, Italy	[3]
6	24.04		Liam Tancock	Great Britain	2 Aug 2009	World Championships	Rome, Italy	[4]
7	24.00		Kliment Kolesnikov	Russia	4 Aug 2018	European Championships	Glasgow, United Kingdom	[5]
8	23.93	sf	Kliment Kolesnikov	Russia	17 May 2021	European Championships	Budapest, Hungary	[6][7]
9	23.80		Kliment Kolesnikov	Russia	18 May 2021	European Championships	Budapest, Hungary	[8]
10	23.71		Hunter Armstrong	United States	28 April 2022	USA International Team Trials	Greensboro, United States	[9]
11	23.55	sf	Kliment Kolesnikov	Russia	27 July 2023	Russian Cup	Kazan, Russia	[10]

Legend: # – Record awaiting ratification by FINA;
Records not set in finals: h – heat; sf – semifinal; r – relay 1st leg; rh – relay heat 1st leg; b – B final; † – en route to final mark; tt – time trial

Short course

#	Time		Name	Nationality	Date	Meet	Location	Ref
1	25.10		Daichi Suzuki	Japan	10 Feb 1990	World Cup	Bonn, West Germany	[11]
#	24.66		Alexander Popov	Russia	13 March 1994	World Cup	Desenzano, Italy
2	24.60		Franck Schott	France	26 March 1994	World Cup	Paris, France
3	24.37	h	Jeff Rouse	United States	12 Feb 1995	World Cup	Sheffield, United Kingdom
4	24.25		Chris Renaud	Canada	28 Feb 1997	CIAU Championships	St. Catharines, Canada
5	24.13		Thomas Rupprath	Germany	11 December 1998	European 25m Championships	Sheffield, United Kingdom
5	24.13	=	Matt Welsh	Australia	2 September 1999	Australia 25m Nationals	Canberra, Australia
6	24.12		Neil Walker	United States	18 November 1999	World Cup	College Park, United States
7	24.11		Matt Welsh	Australia	14 January 2000	World Cup	Hobart, Australia
8	24.04	h	Neil Walker	United States	13 March 2000	World Championships	Athens, Greece
9	23.42	sf	Neil Walker	United States	13 March 2000	World Championships	Athens, Greece
10	23.31		Matt Welsh	Australia	2 Sep 2002	Australia 25m Nationals	Melbourne, Australia
11	23.27		Thomas Rupprath	Germany	10 Dec 2004	European 25m Championships	Vienna, Austria	[12]
12	23.24		Robert Hurley	Australia	26 Oct 2008	World Cup	Sydney, Australia	[13]
13	23.05		Peter Marshall	United States	12 Nov 2008	World Cup	Stockholm, Sweden	[14]
14	22.87		Randall Bal	United States	15 Nov 2008	World Cup	Berlin, Germany	[15]
15	22.75		Peter Marshall	United States	17 October 2009	World Cup	Durban, South Africa	[16]
16	22.73		Peter Marshall	United States	11 Nov 2009	World Cup	Stockholm, Sweden	[17]
17	22.61		Peter Marshall	United States	22 Nov 2009	World Cup	Singapore	[18]
18	22.22		Florent Manaudou	France	6 December 2014	World Championships	Doha, Qatar	[19]
19	22.11		Kliment Kolesnikov	Russia	23 November 2022	Solidarity Games	Kazan, Russia	[20]

Legend: # – Record awaiting ratification by FINA;
Records not set in finals: h – heat; sf – semifinal; r – relay 1st leg; rh – relay heat 1st leg; b – B final; † – en route to final mark; tt – time trial

Women

Long course

#	Time		Name	Nationality	Date	Meet	Location	Ref
1	29.00		Sandra Völker	Germany	24 May 1997	Mare Nostrum	Monte Carlo, Monaco
2	28.78	sf	Sandra Völker	Germany	12 Jun 1999	Mare Nostrum	Monte Carlo, Monaco
3	28.71		Sandra Völker	Germany	1 Aug 1999	European Championships	Istanbul, Turkey
4	28.69		Nina Zhivanevskaya	Spain	8 April 2000	Spain Spring Nationals	Madrid, Spain
5	28.67		Mai Nakamura	Japan	25 April 2000	Japan Championships	Tokyo, Japan
6	28.25	h	Sandra Völker	Germany	17 Jun 2000	Germany Championships	Berlin, Germany
7	28.19		Janine Pietsch	Germany	25 May 2005	Germany Championships	Berlin, Germany
8	28.16	sf	Leila Vaziri	United States	28 Mar 2007	World Championships	Melbourne, Australia
8	28.16	=	Leila Vaziri	United States	29 Mar 2007	World Championships	Melbourne, Australia
9	28.09		Li Yang	China	19 Oct 2007	World Military Games	Hyderabad, India
10	28.00	r	Hayley McGregory	United States	7 Mar 2008	Texas Senior Circuit Championships	Austin, United States
11	27.95	sf	Emily Seebohm	Australia	22 Mar 2008	Australia Championships	Sydney, Australia
12	27.67		Sophie Edington	Australia	23 Mar 2008	Australia Championships	Sydney, Australia	[21]
12	27.67	=	Zhao Jing	China	9 April 2009	China Championships	Shaoxing, China	[22]
13	27.61		Daniela Samulski	Germany	26 Jun 2009	Germany Championships	Berlin, Germany	[23]
14	27.39	sf	Daniela Samulski	Germany	29 Jul 2009	World Championships	Rome, Italy
15	27.38	sf	Anastasia Zuyeva	Russia	29 Jul 2009	World Championships	Rome, Italy
16	27.06		Zhao Jing	China	30 Jul 2009	World Championships	Rome, Italy	[24]
17	26.98		Liu Xiang	China	21 Aug 2018	Asian Games	Jakarta, Indonesia	[25]
18	26.86		Kaylee McKeown	Australia	20 October 2023	World Cup	Budapest, Hungary	[26]

Legend: # – Record awaiting ratification by FINA;
Records not set in finals: h – heat; sf – semifinal; r – relay 1st leg; rh – relay heat 1st leg; b – B final; † – en route to final mark; tt – time trial

Short course

#	Time		Name	Nationality	Date	Meet	Location	Ref
WB	28.47		Lei Xue	China	9 January 1993	World Cup	Beijing, China
1	28.33		Sandra Völker	Germany	16 February 1993	World Cup	Sheffield, United Kingdom
2	27.64		Xiuyu Bai	China	13 March 1994	World Cup	Desenzano, Italy
3	27.27		Sandra Völker	Germany	13 December 1998	European Championships	Sheffield, United Kingdom	[27]
4	27.25	r	Haley Cope	United States	18 March 2000	NCAA Division I Championships	Indianapolis, United States	[28]
5	26.83		Li Hui	China	2 December 2001	World Cup	Shanghai, China	[27]
6	26.50		Sanja Jovanović	Croatia	15 December 2007	European Championships	Debrecen, Hungary
7	26.37		Sanja Jovanović	Croatia	13 April 2008	World Championships	Manchester, United Kingdom	[29]
8	26.23		Sanja Jovanović	Croatia	13 December 2008	European Championships	Rijeka, Croatia
9	26.17		Marieke Guehrer	Australia	6 November 2009	World Cup	Moscow, Russia
10	26.08	h	Zhao Jing	China	10 November 2009	World Cup	Stockholm, Sweden	[30]
11	25.82		Zhao Jing	China	10 November 2009	World Cup	Stockholm, Sweden	[31]
12	25.70		Sanja Jovanović	Croatia	12 December 2009	European Championships	Istanbul, Turkey	[32]
13	25.67		Etiene Medeiros	Brazil	7 December 2014	World Championships	Doha, Qatar	[33]
14	25.60		Kira Toussaint	Netherlands	14 November 2020	International Swimming League	Budapest, Hungary	[34]
14	25.60	=	Kira Toussaint	Netherlands	18 December 2020	Amsterdam Christmas Meet	Amsterdam, Netherlands	[35]
15	25.27		Maggie Mac Neil	Canada	20 December 2021	World Championships	Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates	[36]
16	25.25		Maggie Mac Neil	Canada	16 December 2022	World Championships	Melbourne, Australia	[37]
17	25.23		Regan Smith	United States	13 December 2024	World Championships	Budapest, Hungary	[38]

Legend: # – Record awaiting ratification by FINA;
Records not set in finals: h – heat; sf – semifinal; r – relay 1st leg; rh – relay heat 1st leg; b – B final; † – en route to final mark; tt – time trial

All-time top 25

Tables show data for two definitions of "Top 25" - the top 25 50 m backstroke times and the top 25 athletes:

- denotes top performance for athletes in the top 25 50 m backstroke times

- denotes lesser performances, still in the top 25 50 m backstroke times, by repeat athletes

- denotes top performance (only) for other top 25 athletes who fall outside the top 25 50 m backstroke times

Men long course

• Correct as of August 2025^[39]

Ath.#	Perf.#	Time	Athlete	Nation	Date	Place	Ref.
1	1	23.55	Kliment Kolesnikov	Russia	27 July 2023	Kazan	[10]
	2	23.68	Kolesnikov #2		28 July 2023	Kazan	[40]
			Kolesnikov #2		3 August 2025	Singapore	[41]
2	4	23.71	Hunter Armstrong	United States	28 April 2022	Greensboro	[9]
	5	23.80	Kolesnikov #3		18 May 2021	Budapest	[8]
	6	23.90	Kolesnikov #4		26 July 2024	Yekaterinburg	[42]
			Kolesnikov #5		16 April 2025	Kazan	[43]
3	8	23.92	Justin Ress	United States	28 April 2022	Greensboro	[9]
	9	23.93	Kolesnikov #6		17 May 2021	Budapest	[6]
	10	23.96	Kolesnikov #7		17 April 2024	Kazan	[44]
	11	24.00	Kolesnikov #8		4 August 2018	Glasgow	[5]
4	11	24.00	Shaine Casas	United States	28 April 2022	Greensboro	[9]
	13	24.01	Armstrong #2		28 April 2022	Greensboro	[45]
5	13	24.01	Pavel Samusenko	Russia	16 April 2025	Kazan	[43]
6	15	24.04	Liam Tancock	Great Britain	2 August 2009	Rome	[4]
	16	24.05	Ress #2		28 April 2022	Greensboro	[45]
			Armstrong #3		30 July 2023	Fukuoka	[46]
7	18	24.07	Camille Lacourt	France	12 August 2010	Budapest	[47]
	19	24.08	Tancock #2		1 August 2009	Rome	[3]
			Kolesnikov #9		3 April 2021	Kazan	[48]
			Kolesnikov #9		2 August 2025	Singapore	[49]
	22	24.10	Ress #3		29 June 2023	Indianapolis	[50]
	23	24.11	Kolesnikov #10		27 July 2023	Kazan	[51]
8	24	24.12	Robert Glință	Romania	3 August 2018	Glasgow	[52]
	24	24.12	Ress #4		25 June 2022	Budapest	[53]
			Kolesnikov #11		19 April 2023	Kazan	[54]
8	24	24.12	Isaac Cooper	Australia	17 February 2024	Doha	[55]
10		24.17	Pieter Coetze	South Africa	3 August 2025	Singapore	[41]
11		24.23	Mark Nikolaev	Russia	11 April 2019	Kazan
12		24.24	Junya Koga	Japan	2 August 2009	Rome	[4]
			Ryan Murphy	United States	27 July 2018	Irvine	[56]
14		24.28	Miron Lifintsev	Russia	7 August 2024	Debrecen
15		24.29	Vladimir Morozov	Russia	3 August 2018	Glasgow	[52]
16		24.32	Shane Ryan	Ireland	3 August 2018	Glasgow	[57]
17		24.33	Randall Bal	United States	5 December 2008	Eindhoven	[2]
18		24.34	Johannes Zandberg	South Africa	2 August 2009	Rome	[4]
			Quintin McCarty	United States	5 June 2025	Indianapolis	[58]
20		24.36	Apostolos Christou	Greece	15 August 2022	Rome	[59]
21		24.38	Xu Jiayu	China	25 September 2023	Hangzhou	[60]
					23 May 2025	Shenzhen	[61]
22		24.39	Michael Andrew	United States	21 June 2019	Rome
23		24.40	Thomas Ceccon	Italy	15 August 2022	Rome	[59]
			Michele Lamberti	Italy	22 June 2024	Rome	[62]
25		24.41	Ksawery Masiuk	Poland	2 August 2025	Singapore	[63]

Men short course

• Correct as of December 2024^[64]

Ath.#	Perf.#	Time	Athlete	Nation	Date	Place	Ref.
1	1	22.11	Kliment Kolesnikov	Russia	23 November 2022	Kazan	[20]
2	2	22.22	Florent Manaudou	France	6 December 2014	Doha	[19]
	3	22.31	Kolesnikov #2		22 November 2022	Kazan
	4	22.42	Kolesnikov #3		16 December 2023	Saint Petersburg	[65]
	5	22.47	Kolesnikov #4		3 November 2021	Kazan	[66]
3	5	22.47	Miron Lifintsev	Russia	13 December 2024	Budapest	[67]
4	7	22.49	Mark Nikolaev	Russia	28 December 2021	Saint Petersburg	[68]
			Isaac Cooper	Australia	13 December 2024	Budapest	[67]
	9	22.52	Cooper #2		15 December 2022	Melbourne	[69]
6	10	22.53	Ryan Murphy	United States	25 November 2021	Eindhoven	[70]
	11	22.54	Murphy #2		21 November 2020	Budapest	[71]
7	12	22.55	Guilherme Guido	Brazil	26 October 2019	Budapest	[72]
	12	22.55	Kolesnikov #5		22 November 2022	Kazan
	14	22.56	Murphy #3		3 December 2021	Eindhoven	[73]
8	14	22.56	Shane Ryan	Ireland	13 December 2024	Budapest	[67]
	16	22.57	Kolesnikov #6		2 November 2021	Kazan
9	17	22.58	Evgeny Rylov	Russia	14 December 2018	Hangzhou	[74]
	17	22.58	Kolesnikov #7		3 November 2021	Kazan	[75]
			Cooper #3		19 October 2024	Shanghai	[76]
	20	22.59	Rylov #2		3 December 2021	Eindhoven	[73]
	21	22.60	Guido #2		2 September 2021	Naples	[77]
			Guido #3		11 September 2021	Naples	[78]
10	23	22.61	Peter Marshall	United States	22 November 2009	Singapore	[18]
			Coleman Stewart	United States	28 August 2021	Naples	[79]
	23	22.61	Murphy #4		17 December 2022	Melbourne	[80]
			Cooper #4		1 November 2024	Singapore	[81]
12		22.62	Michele Lamberti	Italy	3 November 2021	Kazan	[75]
13		22.64	Hubert Kós	Hungary	13 December 2024	Budapest	[67]
14		22.65	Lorenzo Mora	Italy	17 December 2022	Melbourne	[80]
15		22.68	Kacper Stokowski	Poland	13 December 2024	Budapest	[67]
16		22.70	Xu Jiayu	China	3 November 2018	Beijing	[82]
17		22.72	Dylan Carter	Trinidad and Tobago	4 November 2022	Indianapolis	[83]
			Pavel Samusenko	Russia	12 December 2024	Budapest	[84]
19		22.73	Thierry Bollin	Switzerland	12 December 2024	Budapest	[84]
20		22.74	Stanislav Donets	Russia	26 November 2010	Eindhoven	[85]
			Robert Glință	Romania	3 November 2021	Kazan	[66]
			Miroslav Knedla	Czech Republic	12 December 2024	Budapest	[84]
23		22.75	Pieter Coetze	South Africa	1 November 2024	Singapore	[81]
24		22.76	Christian Diener	Germany	18 October 2020	Budapest	[86]
25		22.81	Junya Koga	Japan	8 December 2016	Windsor	[87]

Women long course

• Correct as of July 2025^[88]

Ath.#	Perf.#	Time	Athlete	Nation	Date	Place	Ref.
1	1	26.86	Kaylee McKeown	Australia	20 October 2023	Budapest	[26]
2	2	26.97	Katharine Berkoff	United States	5 June 2025	Indianapolis	[89]
3	3	26.98	Liu Xiang	China	21 August 2018	Jakarta	[25]
	3	26.98	McKeown #2		9 December 2023	Brisbane	[90]
	5	27.02	McKeown #3		13 October 2023	Athens	[91]
4	6	27.06	Zhao Jing	China	30 July 2009	Rome	[24]
	6	27.06	McKeown #4		23 March 2025	Sydney	[92]
	8	27.07	McKeown #5		18 April 2024	Gold Coast	[93]
	9	27.08	McKeown #6		27 July 2023	Fukuoka	[94]
			Berkoff #2		31 July 2025	Singapore	[95]
5	11	27.09	Wan Letian	China	23 March 2025	Qingdao	[96]
6	12	27.10	Kira Toussaint	Netherlands	10 April 2021	Eindhoven	[97]
			Regan Smith	United States	26 July 2023	Fukuoka	[98]
8	14	27.11	Fu Yuanhui	China	6 August 2015	Kazan	[99]
	14	27.11	Smith #2		27 July 2023	Fukuoka	[94]
	16	27.12	Berkoff #3		28 April 2022	Greensboro	[100]
	17	27.13	Berkoff #4		29 June 2023	Indianapolis	[101]
9	17	27.13	Kylie Masse	Canada	1 May 2025	Fort Lauderdale	[102]
10	19	27.14	Etiene Medeiros	Brazil	27 July 2017	Budapest	[103]
	19	27.14	Smith #3		29 June 2023	Indianapolis	[101]
	21	27.15	Fu #2		27 July 2017	Budapest	[103]
11	21	27.15	Lauren Cox	Great Britain	24 May 2025	London	[104]
	23	27.16	Fu #3		15 April 2018	Shanxi	[105]
			McKeown #7		16 May 2021	Sydney	[106]
12	23	27.16	Mollie O'Callaghan	Australia	18 April 2024	Gold Coast	[93]
13		27.19	Kathleen Dawson	Great Britain	18 May 2021	Budapest	[107]
14		27.21	Georgia Davies	Great Britain	4 August 2018	Glasgow	[108]
15		27.23	Daniela Samulski	Germany	30 July 2009	Rome	[24]
			Aliaksandra Herasimenia	Belarus	27 July 2017	Budapest	[103]
			Anastasia Fesikova	Russia	4 August 2018	Glasgow	[108]
18		27.24	Claire Curzan	United States	5 June 2025	Indianapolis	[89]
19		27.27	Analia Pigrée	France	14 August 2022	Rome	[109]
20		27.28	Gao Chang	China	30 July 2009	Rome	[24]
21		27.31	Leah Shackley	United States	22 July 2025	Berlin	[110]
22		27.33	Olivia Smoliga	United States	25 July 2019	Gwangju	[111]
					28 April 2022	Greensboro	[100]
23		27.35	Wang Xueer	China	25 September 2023	Hangzhou	[112]
24		27.37	Emily Seebohm	Australia	27 July 2017	Budapest	[103]
			Ingrid Wilm	Canada	21 May 2023	Monaco	[113]

Women short course

• Correct as of August 2025^[114]

Ath.#	Perf.#	Time	Athlete	Nation	Date	Place	Ref.
1	1	25.23	Regan Smith	United States	13 December 2024	Budapest	[38]
2	2	25.25	Maggie Mac Neil	Canada	16 December 2022	Melbourne	[37]
	3	25.27	Mac Neil #2		20 December 2021	Abu Dhabi	[36]
3	4	25.36	Kaylee McKeown	Australia	18 October 2024	Shanghai	[115]
4	5	25.37	Gretchen Walsh	United States	18 October 2024	Charlottesville	[116]
	6	25.40	McKeown #2		28 September 2024	Adelaide	[117]
	7	25.48	Smith #2		31 October 2024	Singapore	[118]
5	8	25.49	Mollie O'Callaghan	Australia	17 December 2022	Melbourne	[119]
6	9	25.51	Katharine Berkoff	United States	12 December 2024	Budapest	[120]
7	10	25.54	Claire Curzan	United States	16 December 2022	Melbourne	[37]
8	11	25.60	Kira Toussaint	Netherlands	14 November 2020	Budapest	[34]
					18 December 2020	Amsterdam	[35]
			Maria Kameneva	Russia	24 November 2022	Kazan	[121]
	11	25.60	Curzan #2		15 December 2022	Melbourne	[122]
	15	25.61	O'Callaghan #2		16 December 2022	Melbourne	[37]
			Berkoff #2		13 December 2024	Budapest	[38]
	17	25.62	Toussaint #3		18 December 2020	Amsterdam	[35]
10	17	25.62	Kylie Masse	Canada	20 December 2021	Abu Dhabi	[36]
	19	25.64	Toussaint #4		18 December 2020	Amsterdam	[35]
			Mac Neil #3		15 December 2022	Melbourne	[122]
	21	25.66	Smith #3		12 December 2024	Budapest	[120]
11	22	25.67	Etiene Medeiros	Brazil	4 December 2014	Doha	[33]
	23	25.69	O'Callaghan #3		15 December 2022	Melbourne	[122]
12	24	25.70	Sanja Jovanović	Croatia	12 December 2009	Istanbul	[32]
	24	25.70	Smith #4		18 October 2024	Shanghai	[115]
13		25.74	Olivia Smoliga	United States	16 October 2020	Budapest	[123]
14		25.81	Minna Atherton	Australia	26 October 2019	Budapest	[124]
			Ingrid Wilm	Canada	12 December 2024	Budapest	[120]
16		25.82	Zhao Jing	China	10 November 2009	Stockholm	[31]
17		25.83	Emily Seebohm	Australia	7 December 2014	Doha	[33]
			Louise Hansson	Sweden	19 December 2021	Abu Dhabi	[125]
19		25.85	Julie Kepp Jensen	Denmark	15 December 2022	Melbourne	[126]
20		25.92	Gao Chang	China	27 February 2010	Tokyo	[127]
21		25.94	Analia Pigrée	France	13 December 2024	Budapest	[38]
22		25.95	Katinka Hosszú	Hungary	16 December 2017	Copenhagen	[128]
			Iona Anderson	Australia	31 October 2024	Singapore	[118]
24		25.97	Maaike de Waard	Netherlands	19 December 2021	Abu Dhabi	[129]
25		25.98	Ali DeLoof	United States	9 September 2021	Naples	[130]
			Marieke Guehrer	Australia	10 November 2009	Stockholm	[31]