Social media has helped swimmers around the world connect and communicate. They create and coordinate all sorts of things, both in the water and on dryland.
We compared the number of followers of some of the most popular open water swimmers and pool swimmers on Instagram:
The Women: Social Influencers on Instagram
- @anamarcela92: 225K followers of Ana Marcela Cunha of Brazil
- @aysu.turkoglu: 209K followers of Aysu Türkoğlu of Turkey
- @lexiekellyswim: 176K followers of Lexie Kelly of the USA [shown above on right]
- @barbarehlla_h: 161K followers of Bárbara Hernández Huerta of Chile [shown above on left]
- @swimmerpsychologist: 128K followers of Deniz Kayadelen of Turkey
- @pohlnathalie: 118K followers of Nathalie Pohl of Germany
- @leoniebeckswim: 114K followers of Leonie Beck of Germany
- @diananyad: 105K followers of Diana Nyad of the USA
- @polianaokimoto: 84.1K followers of Poliana Okimoto of Brazil
- @svrouwendaal: 74.8K followers of Sharon van Rouwendaal of the Netherlands
- @swimplifly: 69K followers of Ildi Szekely of Hungary
- @suchetadebburman: 67.8K followers of Sucheta Deb Burman of India
- @pilargeijo: 66.2K followers of Pilar Geijo of Argentina
- @_katie.grimes_: 50.4K followers of Katie Grimes of the USA
- @elinamae: 49.1K followers of Elina Makïnen of Finland
- @auramove.nz: 48.5K followers of Laura Quilter of New Zealand
- @cecibiagioli: @45.3K followers of Cecilia Biagioli of Argentina
- @bengisuavcı: 43.9K followers of Bengisu Avcı of Turkey
- @kristelkobrich: 37.4K followers of Kristel Köbrich of Chile
- @jaimie.monahan: 29.1K followers of Jaimie Monahan of the USA
- @marielhawley: 25.5K followers of Mariel Hawley of Mexico
- @ailenlascanomicaz: 23.3K followers of Ailen Lascano Micaz of Argentina
- @swimhaley: 20.3K followers of Haley Anderson of the USA
- @mariamsalehbinladen: 19.7K followers of Mariam Saleh Bin Laden of Saudi Arabia
- @laragrangeon: 17.1K followers of Lara Grangeon of France
- @elmahdy_randa: 16.9K followers of Randa Elmahdy Said of Egypt
- @claire_weinstrein: 16.5K followers of Claire Weinstein of the USA
- @carinabruwer: 14.5K followers of Carina Bruwer of South Africa
- @kerianne_payne: 13.8K followers of Keri-Anne Payne of Great Britain
- @csutswim: 13.6K followers of Chloe Sutton of the USA
- @aureliemullerofficial: 11.7K followers of Aurélie Muller of France
- @vivijungblut: 11.7K followers of Viviane Jungblut of Brazil
- @alicedearingx: 11.6K followers of Alice Dearing of Great Britain
- @oceane_cassignol: 11.3K followers of Oceane Cassignol of France
- @annacska93: 11K followers of Anna Olasz of Hungary
The Men: Social Influencers on Instagram
- @richroll: 1.3M followers of Rich Roll of the USA
- @rossedgley: 983K followers of Ross Edgley of Great Britain
- @greg_palt: 443K followers of Gregorio Paltrinieri of Italy [shown above on right]
- @noamyaron_: 397K followers of Noam Yaron of Switzerland
- @mounir_iceswim: 415K followers of Mounir Kariss of Morocco
- @alexfongliksun: 275K followers of Alex Fong Lik-sun of Hong Kong [shown above on left]
- @swimuphill: 258K followers of Jamal Hill of the USA
- @adamoceanwalker: 196K followers of Adam Walker of Great Britain
- @andy.swimming: 170K followers of Andy Donaldson of Scotland
- @matias.ola: 146K followers of Matías Ola of Argentina
- @peter.plavec: 102K followers of Peter Plavec of Slovakia
- @daniel.wiffen: 95.9K followers of Daniel Wiffen of Ireland
- @hhskmedia: 69.1K followers of His Highness Shaikh Khalid bin Hamad Al Khalifa of Bahrain
- @ousmellouli: 66.3K followers of Ous Mellouli of Tunisia
- @flo.swim: 63.8K followers of Florian Wellbrock of Germany
- @kuzeytuncelli: 61.5K followers of Kuzey Tunçelli of Turkey
- @henrikchristians1: 43.2K followers of Henrik Christiansen of Norway
- @lewis.pugh: 34K followers of Lewis Pugh of South Africa
- @maartenvanderweijden: 33.5K followers of Maarten van der Weijden of the Netherlands
- @allandocarmo: 33.3K followers of Allan do Carmo of Brazil
- @hassan.baraka: 30K followers of Hassan Baraka of Morocco
- @alainsimac: 26.7K followers of Alain Simac of France
- @andreaswaschburger: 26.1K followers of Andreas Waschburger of Germany
- @steve_stievenart: 23K followers of Stève Stievenart of France
- @neil.agius: 22.7K followers of Neil Agius of Malta
- @marcosdiazrd: 19.7K followers of Marcos Díaz of the Dominican Republic
- @thevortexswim: 19K followers of Benoît Lecomte of France
- @veryferryfast: 17.9K followers of Ferry Weertman of the Netherlands
- @dome_ace: 18K followers of Domenico Acerenza of Italy
- @swimmeranton: 15.9K followers of Anton Janezich of the USA
- @adamskolnick: 15.1K followers of Adam Skolnick of the USA
- @ky_hurst: 15K followers of Ky Hurst of Australia
- @hectorpardoe: 13.8K followers of Hector Pardoe of Great Britain
- @_ronanfahey: 13.1K followers of Ronan Fahey of Ireland
- @olli.kle: 13.2K followers of Oliver Klemet of Germany
- @vitos_swimmer: 12.5K followers of Vitalii Kochnev of Russia
- @renemtzs: 11K followers of Rene Martínez Saenz of Mexico
Who have we missed? Email steven.munatones@kaatsu.com to suggest additional social influencers who are popular and have significant sway in the open water swimming community.
Popularity of Pool versus Open Water Swimmers
There are few better platforms of becoming well known than winning Olympic medals. A list of some of the most popular elite swimmers on Instagram:
- @m_phelps00: 3.8M followers of Michael Phelps of the USA
- @leon.marchand31: 1.5M followers of Leon Marchand of France
- @ryanlochte: 1M followers of Ryan Lochte of the USA
- @katieledecky: 917K followers of Katie Ledecky of the USA
- @florentmanaudou: 861K followers of Florent Manaudou of France
- @ceccon_thomas: 771K followers of Thomas Ceccon of Italy
- @caelebdressel: 730K followers of Caeleb Dressel of the USA
- @adam_peaty: 726K followers of Adam Peaty, OBE of Great Britain
- @chlorinedaddy: 425K followers of David Popovici of Romania
- @sarahsjostrom: 368K followers of Sarah Sjöström of Sweden
- @siobhanhaughey01: 356K followers of Siobán Haughey of Hong Kong
- @summermcintosh: 325K followers of Summer McIntosh of Canada
- @nicolomartinenghi: 303K followers of Nicolò Martinenghi of Italy
- @swimmermichael: 239K followers of Michael Andrew of the USA
- @ryan_f_murphy: 238K followers of Ryan Murphy of the USA
- @lauremanaudouoff: 232K followers of Laure Manaudou of France
- @ariarnetitmus_: 226K followers of Ariarne Titmus of Australia
- @panzhanle: 180K followers of Pan ZhanLe of China
- @kaylee_mckeown: 177K followers of Kaylee McKeown of Australia
- @kyle_chalmers3: 172K followers of Kyle Chalmers of Australia
- @cam_mcevoy: 152K followers of Cameron McEvoy of Australia
- @_king_lil: 151K followers of Lily King of the USA
- @codymiller: 148K followers of Cody Miller of the USA
- @regansmith4: 140K followers of Regan Smith of the USA
- @benproudswim: 120K followers of Ben Proud of Great Britain
- @alexwalsh7: 119K followers of Alex Walsh of the USA
- @lydiaalicee: 114K followers of Lydia Jacoby of the USA
- @torri_huske: 112K followers of Torre Huske of the USA
- @swimilak: 111K followers of Milák Kristóf of Hungary
- @kaatedouglass: 103K followers of Kate Douglass of the USA
- @dunks_scott: 97.5K followers of Duncan Scott, MBE of Great Britain
- @robert_finke: 95.2K followers of Bobby Fink of the USA
- @mollie_ocal: 94.4K followers of Mollie O’Callaghan of Australia
- @ian.thorpe: 91.9K followers of Ian Thorpe of Australia
- @emmaweyant: 58.1K followers of Emma Weyant of the USA
- @monalmcsharry: 45.5K followers of Mona McSharry of Ireland
- @apostolos_christou: 44.2K followers of Apostolos Christou of Greece
- @lukas01swim: 43K followers of Lukas Märtens of Germany
© 2024 Daily News of Open Water Swimming
“to educate, enthuse, and entertain all those who venture beyond the shoreline“
A World Open Water Swimming Federation project.