In swimming parlance, Italy’s Federica Pellegrini is a few body length’s ahead of her nearest competitors when it comes to followers on Instagram. The first woman ever to break the four-minute barrier in the 400-meter freestyle, Pellegrini is also the first among her pool peers to eclipse the one-million follower threshold.
SWIMMING’S INSTAGRAM QUEENS
In positions two and three behind Pellegrini, Hungary’s Katinka Hosszu and the United States’ Katie Ledecky are neck in neck in terms of Instagram followers at more than 400 thousand apiece. Overall, Americans dominate the list, with seven of the top dozen spots occupied by past and present Team USA swimmers. Narrowly missing the list is Australia’s Cate Campbell (born in Malawi), who excels in the 100-meter freestyle event.
UPDATED March 4, 2024
12) KATHLEEN BAKER
Kathleen Baker
Specialty: Backstroke
Born February 28, 1997 🇺🇸 Winston-Salem, North Carolina
Instagram followers: 72.3 thousand
11) LILLY KING
Lilly King
Specialty: Breaststroke
Born February 10, 1997 🇺🇸 Evansville, Indiana
Instagram followers: 98.2 thousand
10) INGE DE BRUIJN
Inge De Bruijn
Specialty: Freestyle, butterfly
Born August 24, 1973 🇳🇱 Barendrecht, Netherlands
Instagram followers: 109 thousand
9) STEPHANIE RICE
Stephanie Louise Rice
Specialty: Individual medley
Born June 17, 1988 🇦🇺 Brisbane, Australia
Instagram followers: 119 thousand
8) ALLISON SCHMITT
Allison Rodgers Schmitt
Specialty: 200-meter freestyle
Born June 7, 1990 🇺🇸 Canton, Michigan
Instagram followers: 152 thousand
7) SIMONE MANUEL
Simone Ashley Manuel
Specialty: Freestyle
Born August 2, 1996 🇺🇸 Sugar Land, Texas
Instagram followers: 214 thousand
6) NATALIE COUGHLIN
Natalie Anne Coughlin Hall
Specialty: Backstroke
August 23, 1982 🇺🇸 Vallejo, California
Instagram followers: 168 thousand
5) SARAH SJOSTROM
Sarah Fredrika Sjostrom
Specialty: Freestyle, butterfly
Born August 17, 1993 🇸🇪 Salem, Sweden
Instagram followers: 248 thousand
4) MISSY FRANKLIN
Melissa Jeanette Franklin
Specialty: Backstroke, freestyle
Born May 10, 1995 🇺🇸 Pasadena, California
Instagram followers: 321 thousand
3) KATIE LEDECKY
Kathleen Genevieve Ledecky
Specialty: Freestyle
Born March 17, 1997 🇺🇸 Washington, D.C.
Instagram followers: 448 thousand
2) KATINKA HOSSZU
Katinka Hosszu
Specialty: Individual medley
Born May 3, 1989 🇭🇺 Pécs, Hungary
Instagram followers: 404 thousand
1) FEDERICA PELLEGRINI
Federica Pellegrini
Specialty: 200-meter freestyle
Born August 5, 1988 🇮🇹 Mirano, Italy
Instagram followers: 1.3 million
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