Based on the athletes’ average speeds, if every Olympic medalist ever raced each other, France’s Alain Bernard (from the 2008 Games) would win, with a wide distribution of Olympians behind him, including Wednesday's winner, Nathan Adrian. Below, where each swimmer would be when Bernard finishes his race.

The position of the swimmers is based on their average speed. I. Zoltán Halmaj won the event in 1904 when it was 100 yards; his projected finish is used here based on the same speed. Before 1906, the times of the top three finishers are not all known, so only medalists with known times are plotted above. This chart and medal totals include medals for the U.S., Austria and Hungary in the "Intermediary" Games of 1906, which the I.O.C. does not formally recognize.