Michael Phelps won 26 gold medals at the FINA World Aquatics Championships in long-course swimming. That total makes him the most successful swimmer in the competition’s history by gold medals.
Phelps won his first world-championship gold in 2001 and collected titles across freestyle, butterfly, individual medley and relay events. His medal haul spans five championships: Fukuoka 2001, Barcelona 2003, Montreal 2005, Melbourne 2007 and Shanghai 2011.
His 26 golds were part of 33 total World Championships medals, including six silver and one bronze. The figure is separate from his Olympic record: Phelps won 23 Olympic gold medals, while his World Championships total includes many relay victories as well as individual events.
FINA was renamed World Aquatics in 2022, so modern records may call these the World Aquatics Championships rather than the FINA World Championships. “Long course” distinguishes the 50-metre-pool championships from short-course competitions held in 25-metre pools.