1,324 articles
Hideko Maehata
Hideko Maehata, later Hideko Hyodo (1914–1995), was a Japanese breaststroke swimmer who took 200 m breaststroke silver at the 1932 Olympics and gold at Berlin 1936, becoming Japan's first female Olympic champion.
Hilda James
Hilda James (Hilda Marjorie James-McAllister, 1904-1982), "The English Comet", British swimmer; 1920 Antwerp relay silver, world freestyle records 220y-440y, introduced six-beat crawl to England, ISHOF 2016.
Hilde Schrader
Hilde Schrader (Hildegard Emma Schrader, 1910–1966) was a German breaststroke swimmer who won the 200 m breaststroke at the 1928 Amsterdam Olympics and held world records.
Hinkelien Schreuder
Hinkelien Schreuder, Dutch swimmer born 1984 in Goor, Olympic 4x100 m freestyle relay gold (Beijing 2008) and silver (London 2012), short course 100 m medley world record holder 57.74, later chair of the Dutch Dopingautoriteit.
Hironoshin Furuhashi
Hironoshin Furuhashi (古橋廣之進, 1928–2009), the "Flying Fish of Fujiyama", Japanese freestyle swimmer who set 33 world records 1947–1950, was barred from the 1948 Olympics, and later led the Japanese Olympic Committee 1990–1999.
Hiroshi Negami
Hiroshi Negami (根上博, 1912-1980), Japanese freestyle swimmer from Rikkyo University; 1935 national 400 m record 4:45.2, 4x200 m relay world record 8:52.2, fifth in the 400 m freestyle at the 1936 Berlin Olympics, later Japan Swimming Federation president.
Hiroshi Suzuki
Hiroshi Suzuki is the name of two Japanese Olympic athletes: a swimmer who won two silver medals at the 1952 Helsinki Olympics, and a bobsledder at five Winter Games.
Hisakichi Toyoda
Hisakichi Toyoda (豊田久吉, later Minejima, 1912–1976), Japanese freestyle swimmer; won 1932 Los Angeles Olympic gold in the 4×200 m freestyle relay with a world record 8:58.4; distinct from inventor Sakichi Toyoda.
Horst Gunter Gregor
Horst-Günter Gregor (1938–1995), East German swimmer nicknamed Muskel, won three Olympic relay silvers (Tokyo 1964, Mexico City 1968), two European relay titles, and 21 East German national swimming titles.
Howard Johnson
Howard Johnson (Howard R. Johnson, 1919-2015), American freestyle swimmer for Yale, three-time NCAA champion (220-yard freestyle 1940, 1941; 100-yard freestyle 1942), captain of Yale's first NCAA championship team, 400-yard freestyle relay world record holder; not the Motown singer or baseball player.
Hui Li
Hui Li (李慧), Chinese swimmer from Shanghai; set the women's 50 m backstroke short-course world record of 26.83 s on 2 December 2001 at the FINA World Cup in Shanghai, aged 16. Distinct from Singapore's Li Hui Genevieve Lye and Canada's Hau-Li Fan.
Hunter Armstrong
Hunter Armstrong (Joseph "Hunter" Armstrong, born 2001), American backstroke and freestyle swimmer from Dover, Ohio; two Olympic relay golds, former 50m backstroke world record holder (23.71), competed clean at the 2026 Enhanced Games, retired 2026.
Ian Black
Ian Black (Ian MacIntosh Black), born 1941 in Inverness, Scotland, is a British swimmer who won three golds at the 1958 Budapest Europeans, medaled at the 1958 Cardiff Commonwealth Games, set a 400 m medley world record, and placed fourth at the 1960 Rome Olympics.
Ian Crocker
Ian Crocker (Ian Lowell Crocker, born 1982, Portland, Maine), American butterfly swimmer; three Olympic golds in the 4x100m medley relay (2000, 2004, 2008), 100m butterfly world record holder 2003-2009, Texas Longhorn, ISHOF 2017. Not the distance runner or British director of the same name.
Ian Thorpe
Ian Thorpe, nicknamed "Thorpedo", is an Australian swimmer who dominated middle- and long-distance freestyle from 1998 to 2004, winning five Olympic golds among nine medals.
Igor Grivennikov
Igor Grivennikov (Игорь Анатольевич Гривенников), Soviet swimmer born 1952 in Moscow, Dynamo Moscow; 1972 Munich Olympic silver (4x100 free relay) and bronze (4x200), 1973 world relay silver, later a biochemist.
Igor Marchukov
Igor Marchukov (Марчуков), Soviet breaststroke swimmer from Smolensk, International Master of Sport and Soviet champion; member of the USSR swimming team at the 1968 Mexico City Olympics, with bests of 1:07.4 (100 m) and 2:28.9 (200 m) in 1969, later a referee at the 1980 Moscow Olympics.
Igor Polyansky
Igor Polyansky (Игорь Николаевич Полянский, born 1967, Novosibirsk) is a Soviet backstroke swimmer, 1988 Olympic 200 m backstroke champion and bronze medalist in the 100 m and medley relay, holder of five world records, later a coach in Auckland, New Zealand; not the 1990-born triathlete of the same name.
Ilia Shymanovich
Ilia Shymanovich (Ilya Shimanovich, Ілья Шымановіч), Belarusian breaststroke swimmer born 1994 in Minsk; SCM world record holder in the 100 m breaststroke (55.28) and 2021 world short course champion, two-time Olympian.
Ilsa Konrads
Ilsa Konrads (born 1944, Riga) is an Australian former swimmer, half of the Konrads Kids with brother John; she set 12 individual world records, won 1958 Commonwealth gold and 1960 Olympic relay silver.
Ina Kleber
Ina Kleber (later Buttgereit), born 1964 in Greiz, East German backstroke swimmer; 1980 Olympic silver in 100 m backstroke (1:02.07), 1981 and 1983 European champion, 1982 world silver, and 100 m backstroke world record holder 1:00.59 from 1984 to 1991.
Ines Geißler
Ines Geißler (Ines Geißler-Kaulfuss), East German swimmer born 1963 in Marienberg, 1980 Moscow Olympic gold medalist in the 200 m butterfly (2:10.44), also 1982 world champion and 1981/1983 European champion; career later linked to GDR doping.
Inge de Bruijn
Inge de Bruijn (born 1973) is a Dutch former swimmer who won four Olympic golds and set world records in the 50 and 100 meter freestyle and butterfly.
Inge Dekker
Inge Dekker, Dutch swimmer (born 1985, Assen), butterfly and freestyle sprinter; Olympic 4x100 freestyle relay gold 2008, silver 2012, bronze 2004; 2011 world 50m butterfly champion; retired 2016.
Ingrid Schmidt
Ingrid Schmidt (Ingrid Schmidt-Naue, 1945-2023), East German backstroke swimmer; 1960 Olympic bronze in the 4x100 m medley relay, 1962 European champion and world record holder (4:40.1).
Ippei Watanabe
Ippei Watanabe (渡辺一平), Japanese breaststroke swimmer born 1997, set the 200 m breaststroke world record at 2:06.67 in 2017, won 2014 Youth Olympic gold, and earned world championship bronze, silver, and Asian Games medals.
Irene Gilbert
Irene Gilbert (Irene Gilbert-Pass, 1903-1988), Sheffield swimmer for Attercliffe SC; world and European 100 m and 200 m breaststroke record holder (1923-1925) and fifth place in the 200 m breaststroke at the Paris 1924 Olympics.
Irene Guest
Irene May Guest (1900-1970), American swimmer of Philadelphia's Meadowbrook Club; at Antwerp 1920 she took 100 m freestyle silver and relay gold in a 5:11.6 world record.
Irene Steer
Irene Steer (1889–1977), Welsh swimmer, won gold in the 4 × 100 m freestyle relay at the 1912 Stockholm Olympics, swimming anchor for Great Britain's world-record 5:52.8 team; first Welsh woman Olympic gold medalist.
Irina Pozdyakova
Irina Pozdyakova (Ирина Валентиновна Позднякова), Soviet breaststroke swimmer born 1953 in Moscow; set the 200 m breaststroke world record (2:43.0) at age 13 in 1966 and won European silver in Utrecht; wife of volleyball champion Vyacheslav Zaytsev.