Imagine a swimming world where versatility reigns supreme—where athletes aren't just masters of one stroke, but juggle the demands of butterfly, backstroke, breaststroke, and freestyle in a single, electrifying metric. The 2026 edition of our rankings for female swimmers with the fastest four-stroke add-ups in the 100-meter events paints a picture of rapid evolution and heated competition. But here's where it gets controversial: Is breaststroke holding back otherwise talented all-rounders, or does it truly test the limits of swimming prowess? Keep reading to uncover the standings that might just redefine how we view these aquatic superstars.
Building on our recent dive into the men's side (linked here), we're shifting gears to examine the women's updated leaderboard for the swiftest combined times in long-course meters. This 'add-up' concept, aimed at beginners, simply totals the best 100-meter times each swimmer has achieved across the four strokes—fly, back, breast, and free—to simulate what their hypothetical 400 individual medley might look like. It's a fun, insightful way to celebrate well-rounded talent, but it can sometimes spark debates about which stroke carries the most weight.
At the top, we've got a fresh champion shaking things up, much like Thomas Ceccon's narrow edge over Michael Andrew in the men's rankings. Marrit Steenbergen, our standout European Swimmer of the Year, claims the #1 spot with a blistering 3:37.67 total—just 0.09 seconds ahead of Kaylee McKeown. Steenbergen's journey is nothing short of inspiring; ranked a distant 15th just two years ago, she's slashed over six seconds off her previous 4:03.81 add-up. The lion's share of that improvement? A dramatic drop in breaststroke from 1:12.05 to 1:07.90, plus a solid 1.5-second reduction in backstroke. It's a testament to dedication and perhaps the evolving techniques in these events.
Kaylee McKeown, meanwhile, edged out improvements by trimming 0.17 seconds from her 100 backstroke—her only updated personal best among the four disciplines. This was just enough to fend off Anastasia Gorbenko, who boosted her times in backstroke, breaststroke, and freestyle to break under 3:58.00, though she slipped one position overall. And this is the part most people miss: How a tiny tweak in one stroke can cascade into major ranking shifts, highlighting the razor-thin margins in elite sport.
Kate Douglass saw her total dip to 3:58.30 thanks to a hefty 1.8-second improvement in breaststroke, yet she didn't climb the ladder. Her backstroke time of 1:04.04 lags almost five seconds behind the leaders, but she compensates brilliantly with top-tier performances: ranking 3rd in fly, 2nd in free, and 1st in breast across the top 20. It's a classic example of strengths and weaknesses in balance.
Roos Vanotterdijk has been a force this season, bursting onto the scene and landing in the top 20 after being absent two years ago. She's the second-quickest in free, fly, and back behind Torri Huske, but, like her American counterpart, her breaststroke holds her back slightly. For beginners wondering about this, think of it as each stroke being a puzzle piece—some swimmers have almost complete sets, while others shine in three but stumble on one.
Mary-Sophie Harvey takes the Canadian crown from Summer McIntosh, shedding over four seconds to crack under 4:00. McIntosh dropped two seconds herself but fell two spots from her previous standing. Alex Walsh made waves too, plummeting from 4:03.01 to 3:58.87, driven by a two-second fly improvement (from 59.58 to 57.59) and one-second gains in breast and free.
Rebecca Meder stands out as the lone African swimmer in the top 20, securing 18th with fresh personal bests in breaststroke and fly. Overall, this year's top 20 is blazingly fast, with ten swimmers under 4:00—up from just four before. And here's a controversial twist: Breaststroke remains the most divisive stroke, with only one top-ten swimmer failing to break 1:10. Does this mean the event is unfairly punishing versatility, or is it a fair challenge that separates the true all-rounders from the specialists? We love to hear your take on that debate in the comments!
If there's a swimmer you believe should be here but isn't, drop us a line below. Let's dive into the full list:
Rank | Swimmer | Fly | Back | Breast | Free | Total
---|---|---|---|---|---|---
1 | Marrit Steenbergen (NED) link | 58.55 | 58.96 | 1:07.90 | 52.26 | 3:57.67
2 | Kaylee McKeown (AUS) link | 59.45 | 57.16 | 1:06.86 | 54.29 | 3:57.76
3 | Anastasia Gorbenko (ISR) link | 58.23 | 59.25 | 1:06.15 | 54.29 | 3:57.92
4 | Roos Vanotterdijk (BEL) link | 55.84 | 58.97 | 1:09.58 | 53.62 | 3:58.01
5 | Kate Douglass (USA) link | 56.43 | 64.04 | 1:05.27 | 52.56 | 3:58.30
6 | Alex Walsh (USA) link | 57.59 | 60.23 | 1:06.50 | 54.55 | 3:58.87
7 | Katinka Hosszu (HUN) link | 57.80 | 58.45 | 1:09.06 | 53.64 | 3:58.95
8 | Torri Huske (USA) link | 55.52 | 60.19 | 1:11.28 | 52.29 | 3:59.28
9 | Mary-Sophie Harvey (CAN) link | 57.31 | 60.16 | 1:08.37 | 53.71 | 3:59.55
10 | Siobhan Marie O’Connor (GBR) | 57.45 | 62.35 | 1:06.34 | 53.81 | 3:59.95
11 | Yiting Yu (CHN) link | 56.82 | 59.89 | 1:09.27 | 54.04 | 4:00.02
12 | Alicia Coutts (AUS) link | 56.85 | 61.03 | 1:08.95 | 53.78 | 4:00.61
13 | Summer McIntosh (CAN) link | 57.01 | 59.64 | 1:10.39 | 53.90 | 4:00.94
14 | Kathleen Baker (USA) link | 59.69 | 58.00 | 1:07.90 | 55.58 | 4:01.17
15 | Emily Seebohm (AUS) link | 58.52 | 58.23 | 1:11.32 | 53.92 | 4:01.99
16 | Natalie Coughlin (USA) link | 57.34 | 58.94 | 1:12.56 | 53.39 | 4:02.23
17 | Charlotte Bonnet (FRA) link | 58.63 | 64.02 | 1:07.30 | 52.74 | 4:02.69
18 | Rebecca Meder (RSA) link | 58.95 | 61.39 | 1:07.50 | 54.88 | 4:02.72
19 | Femke Heemskerk (NED) link | 58.99 | 60.03 | 1:11.7 | 52.69 | 4:03.41
20 | Katie Hoff (USA) link | 59.45 | 61.86 | 1:08.06 | 54.28 | 4:04.19
Swimmers Who Narrowly Missed Out:
Based on our research, Rika Omoto link just edged out at 21st, missing by a mere 0.04 seconds with a total of 4:04.23. Close behind are active competitors like Phoebe Bacon (4:05.31), Maggie MacNeil (4:05.85), Kayla Sanchez (4:06.16), and Teagan O’Dell (4:06.59). Gretchen Walsh and Beryl Gastaldello posted nearly identical marks at 4:06.82 and 4:06.86, respectively, despite slower breaststroke times of 1:19.64 and 1:16.70. Notably, Walsh shaved two seconds off her two-year-old total without touching her breaststroke. Siobhan Haughey and Qianting Tang are tantalizingly close, each lacking just one backstroke time: Haughey sits at 2:56.06 overall (needing 1:01.60 or faster for the top spot), while Tang is at 3:01.46. This near-miss section really underscores how unpredictable swimming careers can be—do you think one breakthrough stroke could flip the entire leaderboard?
For those new to this, understanding add-ups can open your eyes to the full spectrum of an athlete's skills, beyond just IM finals. But is this metric fair, or should we weight strokes differently? Perhaps breaststroke's challenges make it a bottleneck for greatness—agree or disagree? We'd love to hear your opinions, counterpoints, or even suggestions for future rankings in the comments section below!
