The 20th edition of the World Aquatics Championship (WAC) runs from July 14-30 in Fukuoka, Japan. These championships are touted as the future of aquatic sports by using innovative technology and aiming to connect people in aquatics from all over the world.
The competitions include swimming, diving, artistic swimming, open water swimming, water polo and more, all taking place over the two-week stretch.
The United States has been dominant at the event, leading the medal table the past 10 events. They lead the all-time medal count by a large margin, with 239 golds making them the only country with more than 100. Also, 551 total medals lead second-place Australia by more than 300.
With a slower few days in the sports calendar and presumably lighter action at Ohio betting sites, we decided to take a more in-depth look at swimming.
The United States has dominated the Aquatics Championships since they were first hosted by Yugoslavia in 1973. So, we wondered, which U.S. states boast the most successful American swimmers?
BetOhio.com – your source for Ohio casinos as well as sports betting – used Wikipedia.com’s results of both men’s and women’s events for all 19 previous World Championships. We found the 181 unique U.S.-born swimmers who have won gold, silver or bronze medals at the event. We then used their biographies to find the states that have produced the best swimmers from the United States.
States With Most WAC Swimming Medalists
Here are stats you won’t find on any Ohio sports betting apps.
California the Dominant Swim State
California leads the way with a large contingent of swimmers who have made their way to the podium at the World Aquatic Championships. In all, 46 of the 181 medalists come from the state, giving California a little more than 25% of the total top swimmers.
New York is next with 15 medals. Illinois and Florida are Nos. 3-4, with 13 and nine, respectively.
Ohio comes in at fifth on the list, tied with Pennsylvania with eight swimmers who medaled at the WAC.
Michael Phelps leads all Americans with 33 WAC medals and Katie Ledecky is second with 22. Figure on Ledecky adding to that number this month.
Carson Foster is one of Ohio’s medalists at the event. Like Ledecky, he will be aiming to add to his collection this July. Foster, who was born in Cincinnati in October of 2001, has one gold and two silver medals at the World Aquatics Championships so far. He swims for the University of Texas.
Hunter Armstrong is another Ohioan who will be participating this year. He already has two golds, two silvers and a bronze medal. Making him even more of a favorite in his home state, he swims for the Ohio State.
While they don’t compare to California’s sheer volume of swimmers, there is no doubt that the state of Ohio has contributed greatly to America’s dominance at the World Aquatic Championships and appears primed to do the same again this July.
For more on the first year of legal sports betting in the state – as well as Ohio sportsbook promos – keep it here at BetOhio.com.
