The swimming competitions at the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo were due to take place from 25 July to 6 August 2020 at the Olympic Aquatics Centre. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the games were postponed to 2021. However, their official name remained 2020 Summer Olympics with swimming events set for 24 July–1 August 2021

Swimming featured a record total of 35 events (17 for each gender and 1 mixed), with the addition of the men's 800 m freestyle, women's 1500 m freestyle, and the mixed medley relay.

Events Swimming at the 2020 Olympics featured a total of 35 events (17 each for men and women and 1 mixed event). This was a slight increase from the 32 events contested in the previous Olympic Games. The following events were contested (all pool events are long course, and distances are in metres unless stated): Freestyle: 50, 100, 200, 400, 800, and 1500; Backstroke: 100 and 200; Breaststroke: 100 and 200; Butterfly: 100 and 200; Individual medley: 200 and 400; Relays: 4 × 100 free, 4 × 200 free; 4 × 100 medley (men's, women's, and mixed)

Schedule Unlike the previous Olympics, swimming program schedule occurred in two segments. Similar to the case of the 2008 Games, prelims were held in the evening with semifinals and final in the following morning session, spanning a day between semifinals and finals in those events with semifinals. The shift of the normal morning prelims and evening finals (to evening prelims and morning finals) occurred for these Games due to the prior request made by US broadcaster NBC (due to the substantial fees NBC has paid for rights to the Olympics, the IOC has allowed NBC to have influence on event scheduling to maximize U.S. television ratings when possible; NBC agreed to a $7.75 billion contract extension on May 7, 2014, to air the Olympics through the 2032 games and is also one of the major sources of revenue for the IOC), so that the finals from the event could be shown live in the United States.

+Men Date → Jul 24 Jul 25 Jul 26 Jul 27 Jul 28 Jul 29 Jul 30 Jul 31 Aug 1Event ↓ M E M E M E M E M E M E M E M E M E50 m freestyle H ½ F100 m freestyle H ½ F 200 m freestyle H ½ F 400 m freestyle HF 800 m freestyle H F 1500 m freestyle H F100 m backstroke H ½ F 200 m backstroke H ½ F 100 m breaststroke H ½ F 200 m breaststroke H ½ F 100 m butterfly H ½ F 200 m butterfly H ½ F 200 m individual medley H ½ F 400 m individual medley HF freestyle relay HF freestyle relay HF medley relay H F

+Women Date → Jul 24 Jul 25 Jul 26 Jul 27 Jul 28 Jul 29 Jul 30 Jul 31 Aug 1Event ↓ M E M E M E M E M E M E M E M E M E50 m freestyle H ½ F100 m freestyle H ½ F 200 m freestyle H ½ F 400 m freestyle HF 800 m freestyle H F 1500 m freestyle H F 100 m backstroke H ½ F 200 m backstroke H ½ F 100 m breaststroke H ½ F 200 m breaststroke H ½ F 100 m butterfly H ½ F 200 m butterfly H ½ F 200 m individual medley H ½ F 400 m individual medley HF freestyle relay HF freestyle relay HF medley relay H F +Mixed Date → Jul 24 Jul 25 Jul 26 Jul 27 Jul 28 Jul 29 Jul 30 Jul 31 Aug 1Event ↓ M E M E M E M E M E M E M E M E M E medley relay H F

Qualification

Individual events FINA establishes qualifying times for individual events. The time standards consisted of two types: an "Olympic Qualifying Time" (OQT) and an "Olympic Selection time" (OST). Each country was able to enter up to two swimmers per event, provided both swimmers met the (faster) qualifying time. A country was able to enter one swimmer per event that met the invitation standard. Any swimmer who met the "qualifying" time was entered in the event for the Games; a swimmer meeting the "invitation" standard was eligible for entry, and their entry was allotted/filled in by ranking. If a country has no swimmers who meet either of the qualifying standards, it may have entered one male and one female. A country that did not receive an allocation spot but had at least one swimmer who met a qualifying standard might have entered the swimmer with the highest ranking.Qualification System – Games of the XXXII Olympia – Tokyo 2020; FINA, 19 March 2018.

Relay events Each relay event features 16 teams, composed of: 12 teams including the top-12 finishers at the 2019 World Championships in each relay event. 4 teams including the 4 fastest non-qualified teams, based on times in the 15-months preceding the Olympics.

Medal summary Medal table

Men's events 50 m freestyle 21.07 21.55 21.57 100 m freestyle 47.02 47.08 47.44 200 m freestyle 1:44.22 NR 1:44.26 1:44.66 SA 400 m freestyle 3:43.36 3:43.52 3:43.94 800 m freestyle 7:41.87 NR 7:42.11 7:42.33 1500 m freestyle 14:39.65 14:40.66 14:40.91 100 m backstroke 51.98 ER 52.00 52.19 200 m backstroke 1:53.27 1:54.15 1:54.72 100 m breaststroke 57.37 58.00 58.33 200 m breaststroke 2:06.38 2:07.01 2:07.13 NR 100 m butterfly 49.45 49.68 ER 50.74 NR 200 m butterfly 1:51.25 1:53.73 1:54.45 200 m individual medley 1:55.00 AS 1:55.28 NR 1:56.17 NR 400 m individual medley 4:09.42 4:10.28 4:10.38 4 × 100 m freestyle relay Caeleb Dressel (47.26)Blake Pieroni (47.58)Bowe Becker (47.44)Zach Apple (46.69)Brooks Curry 3:08.97 Alessandro Miressi (47.72)Thomas Ceccon (47.45)Lorenzo Zazzeri (47.31)Manuel Frigo (47.63)Santo Condorelli 3:10.11 NR Matthew Temple (48.07)Zac Incerti (47.55)Alexander Graham (48.16)Kyle Chalmers (46.44)Cameron McEvoy 3:10.22 4 × 200 m freestyle relay Thomas Dean (1:45.72)James Guy (1:44.40)Matthew Richards (1:45.01)Duncan Scott (1:43.45)Calum Jarvis 6:58.58 ER Martin Malyutin (1:45.69)Ivan Girev (1:45.63)Evgeny Rylov (1:45.26)Mikhail Dovgalyuk (1:45.23)Aleksandr Krasnykh Mikhail Vekovishchev 7:01.81 Alexander Graham (1:46.00)Kyle Chalmers (1:45.35)Zac Incerti (1:45.75)Thomas Neill (1:44.74)Mack HortonElijah Winnington 7:01.84 4 × 100 m medley relay Ryan Murphy (52.31)Michael Andrew (58.49)Caeleb Dressel (49.03)Zach Apple (46.95)Hunter ArmstrongAndrew WilsonTom ShieldsBlake Pieroni 3:26.78 Luke Greenbank (53.63)Adam Peaty (56.53)James Guy (50.27)Duncan Scott (47.08)James Wilby 3:27.51 ER Thomas Ceccon (52.52)Nicolò Martinenghi (58.11)Federico Burdisso (51.07)Alessandro Miressi (47.47) 3:29.17 NR Swimmers who participated in the heats only and received medals.

Women's events 50 m freestyle 23.81 24.07 24.21 100 m freestyle 51.96 , OC 52.27 AS 52.52 200 m freestyle 1:53.50 1:53.92 AS 1:54.70 400 m freestyle 3:56.69 OC 3:57.36 4:01.08 AS 800 m freestyle 8:12.57 8:13.83 OC 8:18.35 1500 m freestyle 15:37.34 15:41.41 15:42.91 NR 100 m backstroke 57.47 57.72 58.05 200 m backstroke 2:04.68 2:05.42 NR 2:06.17 100 m breaststroke 1:04.95 1:05.22 1:05.54 200 m breaststroke 2:18.95 2:19.92 2:20.84 100 m butterfly 55.59 AM 55.64 55.72 OC 200 m butterfly 2:03.86 2:05.30 2:05.65 200 m individual medley 2:08.52 2:08.65 2:09.04 400 m individual medley 4:32.08 4:32.76 4:34.90 4 × 100 m freestyle relay Bronte Campbell (53.01)Meg Harris (53.09)Emma McKeon (51.35)Cate Campbell (52.24)Mollie O'CallaghanMadison Wilson 3:29.69 Kayla Sanchez (53.42)Maggie Mac Neil (53.47)Rebecca Smith (53.63)Penny Oleksiak (52.26)Taylor Ruck 3:32.78 Erika Brown (54.02)Abbey Weitzeil (52.68)Natalie Hinds (53.15)Simone Manuel (52.96)Catie DeLoofAllison SchmittOlivia Smoliga 3:32.81 4 × 200 m freestyle relay Yang Junxuan (1:54.37)Tang Muhan (1:55.00)Zhang Yufei (1:55.66)Li Bingjie (1:55.30)Dong JieZhang Yifan 7:40.33 Allison Schmitt (1:56.34)Paige Madden (1:55.25)Katie McLaughlin (1:55.38)Katie Ledecky (1:53.76)Brooke FordeBella Sims 7:40.73 AM Ariarne Titmus (1:54.51)Emma McKeon (1:55.31)Madison Wilson (1:55.62)Leah Neale (1:55.85)Tamsin CookMeg HarrisMollie O'CallaghanBrianna Throssell 7:41.29 OC 4 × 100 m medley relay Kaylee McKeown (58.01)Chelsea Hodges (1:05.57)Emma McKeon (55.91)Cate Campbell (52.11)Emily SeebohmBrianna ThrossellMollie O'Callaghan 3:51.60 , OC Regan Smith (58.05)Lydia Jacoby (1:05.03)Torri Huske (56.16)Abbey Weitzeil (52.49)Rhyan WhiteLilly KingClaire CurzanErika Brown 3:51.73 Kylie Masse (57.90)Sydney Pickrem (1:07.17)Maggie Mac Neil (55.27)Penny Oleksiak (52.26)Taylor RuckKayla Sanchez 3:52.60 NR Swimmers who participated in the heats only and received medals.

Mixed events 4 × 100 m medley relay Kathleen Dawson (58.80)Adam Peaty (56.78)James Guy (50.00)Anna Hopkin (52.00)Freya Anderson 3:37.58 Xu Jiayu (52.56)Yan Zibei (58.11)Zhang Yufei (55.48)Yang Junxuan (52.71) 3:38.86 Kaylee McKeown (58.14)Zac Stubblety-Cook (58.82)Matthew Temple (50.26)Emma McKeon (51.73)Bronte CampbellIsaac CooperBrianna Throssell 3:38.95 Swimmers who participated in the heats only and received medals.

Records broken

Men Event Round Swimmer Team Time Date Record Day Men's 800 metre freestyle Heat 4 Mykhailo Romanchuk 7:41.28 27 July 4 Men's 200 metre butterfly Final Kristóf Milák 1:51.25 28 July 5 Men's 200 metre breaststroke Final Zac Stubblety-Cook 2:06.38 29 July 6 Men's 100 metre freestyle Final Caeleb Dressel 47.02 29 July 6 Men's 100 metre butterfly Heat 8 Caeleb Dressel 50.39 29 July =OR 6 Men's 100 metre butterfly Semifinal 1 Kristóf Milák 50.31 30 July 7 Men's 100 metre butterfly Semifinal 2 Caeleb Dressel 49.71 30 July 7 Men's 200 metre backstroke Final Evgeny Rylov 1:53.27 30 July 7 Men's 100 metre butterfly Final Caeleb Dressel 49.45 31 July 8 Men's 50 metre freestyle Final Caeleb Dressel 21.07 1 August 9 Men's 4 × 100 metre medley relay Final 3:26.78 1 August 9

Women Event Round Swimmer Team Time Date Record Day Women's 100 metre freestyle Final Sarah Sjöström 52.62 (r) 25 July 2 Women's 4 × 100 metre freestyle relay Final Bronte Campbell (53.01)Meg Harris (53.09)Emma McKeon (51.35)Cate Campbell (52.24) 3:29.69 25 July 2 Women's 100 metre backstroke Heat 4 Kylie Masse 58.17 25 July 2 Women's 100 metre backstroke Heat 5 Regan Smith 57.96 25 July 2 Women's 100 metre backstroke Heat 6 Kaylee McKeown 57.88 25 July 2 Women's 100 metre breaststroke Heat 5 Tatjana Schoenmaker 1:04.82 25 July 2 Women's 100 metre backstroke Semifinal 1 Regan Smith 57.86 26 July 3 Women's 1500 metre freestyle Heat 5 Katie Ledecky 15:35.35 26 July 3 Women's 100 metre backstroke Final Kaylee McKeown 57.47 27 July 4 Women's 200 metre freestyle Final Ariarne Titmus 1:53.50 28 July 5 Women's 100 metre freestyle Heat 6 Emma McKeon 52.13 28 July 5 Women's 200 metre breaststroke Heat 4 Tatjana Schoenmaker 2:19.16 28 July 5 Women's 200 metre butterfly Final Zhang Yufei 2:03.86 29 July 6 Women's 4 × 200 metre freestyle relay Final 7:40.33 29 July 6 Women's 200 metre breaststroke Final Tatjana Schoenmaker 2:18.95 30 July 7 Women's 100 metre freestyle Final Emma McKeon 51.96 30 July 7 Women's 50 metre freestyle Heat 10 Emma McKeon 24.02 30 July 7 Women's 50 metre freestyle Semifinal 2 Emma McKeon 24.00 31 July 8 Women's 50 metre freestyle Final Emma McKeon 23.81 1 August 9 Women's 4 × 100 metre medley relay Final 3:51.60 1 August 9

Mixed Event Round Swimmer Team Time Date Record Day Mixed 4 × 100 metre medley relay Heat 1 3:38.75 29 July 6 Mixed 4 × 100 metre medley relay Final 3:37.58 31 July 8

All world records (WR) are consequently Olympic records (OR).

Chinese swimming team doping allegation On 20 April 2024, The New York Times revealed that 23 members of the Chinese swimming team tested positive for a performance-enhancing drug called Trimetazidine seven months prior to the start of the games and were allowed to participate in the games with some of the swimmers winning medals. Following the publication of the report, Travis Tygart, CEO of the United States Anti-Doping Agency, accused the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) and the China Anti-Doping Agency (CHINADA) of covering up doping by Chinese swimmers.