SWIMMERS from China

Top 10

The following people are considered by Pantheon to be the top 10 most legendary Chinese Swimmers of all time. This list of famous Chinese Swimmers is sorted by HPI (Historical Popularity Index), a metric that aggregates information on a biography’s online popularity. Visit the rankings page to view the entire list of Chinese Swimmers.

1. Sun Yang (1991 - )

With an HPI of 37.51, Sun Yang is the most famous Chinese Swimmer.  His biography has been translated into 36 different languages on wikipedia.

Sun Yang (Chinese: 孙杨; Mandarin pronunciation: [swə́n.jǎŋ]; born 1 December 1991) is a Chinese Olympic and world-record-holding competitive swimmer. In 2012, Sun became the first Chinese athlete to win an Olympic gold medal in men's swimming. Sun is the first male swimmer in history to earn Olympic and World Championship gold medals at every freestyle distance from 200 to 1500 metres. A three-time Olympic gold medalist and eleven-time world champion, he is the most decorated Chinese swimmer in history. In 2017, NBC Sports described him as "very arguably the greatest freestyle swimmer of all time". In September 2018, Sun during his ninth drug test in two weeks, was involved in an incident during an out-of-competition anti-doping testing operation at his home, where a doping control assistant (DCA) could not provide appropriate accreditations, verifying his identity and whether the test was authorized, and had also taken photos of Sun without his permission. After his offer to wait for a properly accredited team was declined, Sun refused to let the testers take his blood sample and a security guard broke open the container to prevent the drug testers from taking away the blood vials. The DCA was later confirmed to be a construction worker according to Chinese state media. Additionally, the DCA acknowledged breaching professional conduct and excitedly taking photos of Sun without his permission during the testing operation and though the DCA didn't testify in person, his written statement was confirmed by several witnesses, including the doping control officer (DCO) who lead the testing operation. FINA stated that because the conduct of the DCA was unprofessional and the test lacked proper authorization, they concluded that Sun did not commit an anti-doping rule violation for not submitting himself to the test. On 28 February 2020, Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) delivered its findings, overturning FINA's decision and banning Sun for eight years for tampering with the doping control process. Some analysts opined that the trial was marred by severe translation problems, conflict of interest, bias and an "absence of evidence" around doping activity. CAS also ruled that Sun would not officially lose any of his medals because "doping tests performed on the Athlete shortly before and after the aborted doping control in September 2018 were negative" and that "in the absence of any evidence that the Athlete may have engaged in doping activity since 4 September 2018, including on the occasion of the FINA World Championships in Gwangju, South Korea in July 2019, the results achieved by the Athlete in the period prior to the CAS award being issued should not be disqualified". On 22 June 2021, after the retrial of the case, the CAS upheld the ban but reduced the suspension time to 4 years and three months.

2. Le Jingyi (1975 - )

With an HPI of 30.33, Le Jingyi is the 2nd most famous Chinese Swimmer.  Her biography has been translated into 15 different languages.

Le Jingyi (simplified Chinese: 乐靖宜; traditional Chinese: 樂靖宜; pinyin: Lè Jìngyí; born March 19, 1975, in Shanghai) is a former swimmer from China who won the gold medal in the 100 metres freestyle at the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta, USA. In 1992, Le won the silver medal in the 4×100 metres freestyle relay (3:40.12) at the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona, and also finished 6th in the 100 m free (55.89). In 1993 she defeated her teammate, Olympic champion Zhuang Yong, to become national champion in the 100 m free (54.72, 2nd globally after Franziska van Almsick). In December 1993, she won 4 golds, all in world record times, at the 1st ever World Short Course Championships in Spain (50 m free: 24.23; 100 m free: 53.01; 4×100 m free relay: 3:35.97 and 4×100 m medley reply: 3:57.73). She won the title in the 100 metres freestyle at the 1994 World Aquatics Championships in Rome, setting a world record with a time of 54.01 seconds. She also set a world record in the 50 metres freestyle (24.51) and anchored two world record-setting relays. She also won 3 golds in the 1995 Short Course Worlds in Brazil. At the Atlanta Olympics, she won the 100 m freestyle (54.50) and won silver medals in the 4×100 metres freestyle relay (3:40.48) and the 50 metres freestyle (24.90). Le continued to compete in 1997, winning the 50 m freestyle (25.24) and taking silver in the 10 0m (54.86) and 200 m (2:00.54) at the Pan Pacific Championships. At the 1997 Chinese National Games, she was upset by Shan Ying in the 50 m (24.71 to 24.88), though she took gold in the 100 m (54.10, 2nd fastest all-time). Le competed at the 1998 World Championships in Perth but only swam in relays. She recorded the slowest split (57.59) among all 32 swimmers in the 4×100 m free relay final, where the Chinese team placed 8th. In 2000, Le made an attempt to qualify for her third Olympics but was off-form to make it into the team. While Le had been Olympic champion and world champion many times, she had never won a medal at the Asian Games. She competed in the 1994 Games in Hiroshima, entering the 50 m free and 4×100 m free relay. In the 50 free, she set a Games record (25.26) in the heats but was disqualified in the final for a false start. In the 4×100 m free relay, the Chinese team won (Le swam the 2nd leg and split 54.14) but was subsequently stripped of their gold when Lu Bin failed a doping test. She was the face of the rising power of Chinese swimming in the mid-1990s. Due to her muscular build, she was one of many Chinese swimmers suspected of using steroids during the 1990s. Though several others were later found guilty of doping, she never tested positive for any illegal substances.

3. Yang Wenyi (1972 - )

With an HPI of 29.98, Yang Wenyi is the 3rd most famous Chinese Swimmer.  Her biography has been translated into 15 different languages.

Yang Wenyi (simplified Chinese: 杨文意; traditional Chinese: 楊文意; pinyin: Yáng Wényì; born January 11, 1972, in Shanghai) is a former freestyle and backstroke swimmer from China, whose best performance was winning the gold medal in the 50 m freestyle at the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona, Spain and in the same year she won the same event at the 4th Asian Championships. She was the first woman in history to go under the 25-seconds barrier in the 50m freestyle when she was 20 years old. She was one of "Five Golden Flowers" of Chinese swimming. She was born in 1972 in Shanghai and she joined the national team and began intense training in 1986. During her career she broke national swimming records eighteen times. After retirement, she owned "Jinyi Sports Promotion Ltd", holding sports contests and running "Yang Wenyi Swimming Club". The club is located in Minhang, Shanghai.

4. Huang Xuechen (1990 - )

With an HPI of 29.49, Huang Xuechen is the 4th most famous Chinese Swimmer.  Her biography has been translated into 17 different languages.

Huang Xuechen (黄雪辰, Huáng Xuěchén, born 25 February 1990) is a Chinese Olympic synchronised swimmer.

5. Fu Yuanhui (1996 - )

With an HPI of 28.31, Fu Yuanhui is the 5th most famous Chinese Swimmer.  Her biography has been translated into 24 different languages.

Fu Yuanhui (Chinese: 傅园慧; pinyin: Fù Yuánhuì; born January 7, 1996) is a Chinese competitive swimmer who specializes in backstroke. She won a bronze medal at the 2016 Rio Olympics in the 100-meter backstroke.

6. Ye Shiwen (1996 - )

With an HPI of 27.72, Ye Shiwen is the 6th most famous Chinese Swimmer.  Her biography has been translated into 27 different languages.

Ye Shiwen (Chinese: 叶诗文; pinyin: Yè Shīwén; Mandarin pronunciation: [jê ʂɻ̩́ wə̌n] ; born 1 March 1996) is a Chinese swimmer. At the 2012 Summer Olympics, she won gold medals in the 400 metres and 200 metres individual medley, breaking the world record in the 400 m event and the Olympic record in the 200 m event.

7. Liu Zige (1989 - )

With an HPI of 27.10, Liu Zige is the 7th most famous Chinese Swimmer.  Her biography has been translated into 21 different languages.

Liu Zige (simplified Chinese: 刘子歌; traditional Chinese: 劉子歌; pinyin: Liú Zǐgē, born March 31, 1989) is a world record holding professional swimmer from China. She swam for China at the 2008 Olympics, where she won the women's 200m butterfly in a new world record of 2:04.18.

8. Zhang Yufei (1998 - )

With an HPI of 26.43, Zhang Yufei is the 8th most famous Chinese Swimmer.  Her biography has been translated into 21 different languages.

Zhang Yufei (Chinese: 张雨霏; pinyin: Zhāng Yǔfēi; born 19 April 1998) is a Chinese competitive swimmer who specializes in sprint freestyle and butterfly events. Considered one of the most promising swimmers in the international scene, she produced a tally of thirty-seven medals (eighteen gold medals, seven silver medals, and twelve bronze medals) in her swimming career, spanning the Youth Olympics, Asian Games, World Championships and the Summer Olympics. In 2023, she was named as the most valuable player in the women's division, in the 2022 Asian Games in Hangzhou.

9. Jiao Liuyang (1991 - )

With an HPI of 25.43, Jiao Liuyang is the 9th most famous Chinese Swimmer.  Her biography has been translated into 24 different languages.

Jiao Liuyang (simplified Chinese: 焦刘洋; traditional Chinese: 焦劉洋; pinyin: Jiāo Liúyáng; born August 6, 1991) is a Chinese swimmer, who specializes in the 200-metre butterfly.

10. Zhang Lin (1987 - )

With an HPI of 25.21, Zhang Lin is the 10th most famous Chinese Swimmer.  His biography has been translated into 18 different languages.

Zhang Lin (simplified Chinese: 张琳; traditional Chinese: 張琳; pinyin: Zhāng Lín; born January 6, 1987) is a retired Chinese competitive male swimmer. He is an Olympic silver medalist, world champion, and the current world-record holder in the 800 metre freestyle.