This is a list of the medalists of the open water swimming competitions at the World Aquatics Championships. Medalists at the FINA World Open Water Swimming Championships, which have been held as separate events in the even years between 2000 and 2010, have not been included.
Bold numbers in brackets denotes record number of victories in corresponding disciplines.
| 1998 Perth | ||||
| 2001 Fukuoka | ||||
| 2003 Barcelona | ||||
| 2005 Montreal | ||||
| 2007 Melbourne | ||||
| 2009 Rome | ||||
| 2011 Shanghai | ||||
| 2013 Barcelona | ||||
| 2015 Kazan | ||||
| 2017 Budapest | ||||
| 2019 Gwangju | ||||
| 2022 Budapest | ||||
| 2023 Fukuoka | ||||
| 2024 Doha |
Medal table
| 2001 Fukuoka | ||||
| 2003 Barcelona | ||||
| 2005 Montreal | ||||
| 2007 Melbourne | ||||
| 2009 Rome | ||||
| 2011 Shanghai | ||||
| 2013 Barcelona | ||||
| 2015 Kazan | ||||
| 2017 Budapest | ||||
| 2019 Gwangju | ||||
| 2022 Budapest | ||||
| 2023 Fukuoka | ||||
| 2024 Doha |
Medal table
| 1991 Perth | ||||
| 1994 Rome | ||||
| 1998 Perth | ||||
| 2001 Fukuoka | ||||
| 2003 Barcelona | ||||
| 2005 Montreal | ||||
| 2007 Melbourne | ||||
| 2009 Rome | ||||
| 2011 Shanghai | ||||
| 2013 Barcelona | ||||
| 2015 Kazan | ||||
| 2017 Budapest | ||||
| 2019 Gwangju | ||||
| 2022 Budapest |
Medal table
Bold numbers in brackets denotes record number of victories in corresponding disciplines.
| 1998 Perth | ||||
| 2001 Fukuoka | ||||
| 2003 Barcelona | ||||
| 2005 Montreal | ||||
| 2007 Melbourne | ||||
| 2009 Rome | ||||
| 2011 Shanghai | ||||
| 2013 Barcelona | ||||
| 2015 Kazan | ||||
| 2017 Budapest | ||||
| 2019 Gwangju | ||||
| 2022 Budapest | ||||
| 2023 Fukuoka | ||||
| 2024 Doha |
Medal table
| 2001 Fukuoka | ||||
| 2003 Barcelona | ||||
| 2005 Montreal | ||||
| 2007 Melbourne | ||||
| 2009 Rome | ||||
| 2011 Shanghai | ||||
| 2013 Barcelona | ||||
| 2015 Kazan | ||||
| 2017 Budapest | ||||
| 2019 Gwangju | ||||
| 2022 Budapest | ||||
| 2023 Fukuoka | ||||
| 2024 Doha |
Medal table
| 1991 Perth | ||||
| 1994 Rome | ||||
| 1998 Perth | ||||
| 2001 Fukuoka | ||||
| 2003 Barcelona | ||||
| 2005 Montreal | ||||
| 2007 Melbourne | ||||
| 2009 Rome | ||||
| 2011 Shanghai | ||||
| 2013 Barcelona | ||||
| 2015 Kazan | ||||
| 2017 Budapest | ||||
| 2019 Gwangju | ||||
| 2022 Budapest |
Medal table
Bold numbers in brackets denotes record number of victories in corresponding disciplines.
| 1998 Perth |  |  |  | |
| 2011 Shanghai | |  | ||
| 2013 Barcelona |  | |||
| 2015 Kazan | | Not awarded | ||
| 2017 Budapest |  | | | |
| 2019 Gwangju | | | ||
| 2022 Budapest |  | | ||
| 2023 Fukuoka | | | | |
| 2024 Doha | | | |
Medal table
| 1998 Perth | | | |
Medal table
Updated after the 2024 World Aquatics Championships.
Boldface denotes active swimmers and highest medal count among all swimmers (including these who not included in these tables) per type.
| Rank | Swimmer | Country | From | To | Gold | Silver | Bronze | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2005 | 2013 | 7 | 4 | 2 | 13 | ||
| 2 | Florian Wellbrock | 2019 | 2023 | 5 | – | 1 | 6 | |
| 3 | 2001 | 2007 | 3 | – | – | 3 | ||
| 4 | Gregorio Paltrinieri | 2019 | 2024 | 2 | 4 | 1 | 7 | |
| 5 | 2007 | 2015 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 7 | ||
| 6 | Marc-Antoine Olivier | 2017 | 2024 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 6 | |
| Kristóf Rasovszky | 2019 | 2024 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 6 | ||
| 8 | 2001 | 2011 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 6 | ||
| 9 | 1994 | 1998 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 4 | ||
| Rob Muffels | 2015 | 2019 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 4 |
This table includes medals won at the separate FINA World Open Water Swimming Championships in 2000–2010.
| Rank | Swimmer | Country | From | To | Gold | Silver | Bronze | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2002 | 2013 | 12 | 4 | 4 | 20 | |||
| 2 | 2000 | 2008 | 5 | 2 | 1 | 8 | |||
| 3 | Florian Wellbrock | 2019 | 2023 | 5 | – | 1 | 6 | ||
| 4 | 2001 | 2011 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 10 | |||
| 5 | 1998 | 2005 | 2 | 4 | 1 | 7 | |||
| Gregorio Paltrinieri | 2019 | 2024 | 2 | 4 | 1 | 7 | |||
| 7 | 2007 | 2015 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 7 | |||
| 8 | Marc-Antoine Olivier | 2017 | 2024 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 6 | ||
| Kristóf Rasovszky | 2019 | 2024 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 6 | |||
| 10 | 1998 | 2001 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 5 |
| Rank | Swimmer | Country | From | To | Gold | Silver | Bronze | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ana Marcela Cunha | 2011 | 2024 | 7 | 2 | 7 | 16 | ||
| 2 | 2001 | 2003 | 4 | – | – | 4 | |||
| 3 | Sharon van Rouwendaal | 2015 | 2024 | 3 | 4 | 1 | 8 | ||
| 4 | Aurélie Muller | 2011 | 2022 | 3 | 4 | – | 7 | ||
| 5 | 1998 | 2005 | 3 | 2 | 4 | 9 | |||
| 6 | Leonie Beck | 2019 | 2023 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 5 | ||
| 7 | 2005 | 2009 | 3 | 1 | – | 4 | |||
| 8 | Haley Anderson | 2013 | 2019 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 5 | ||
| 9 | Ashley Twichell | 2011 | 2019 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 5 | ||
| 10 | Lea Boy | 2019 | 2022 | 2 | 1 | – | 3 |
This table includes medals won at the separate FINA World Open Water Swimming Championships in 2000–2010.
| Rank | Swimmer | Country | From | To | Gold | Silver | Bronze | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2004 | 2009 | 8 | 1 | – | 9 | |||
| 2 | Ana Marcela Cunha | 2010 | 2023 | 7 | 2 | 8 | 17 | ||
| 3 | 1998 | 2008 | 6 | 5 | 4 | 15 | |||
| 4 | 2000 | 2003 | 5 | 2 | 1 | 8 | |||
| 5 | 2002 | 2007 | 4 | 2 | 4 | 10 | |||
| 6 | Sharon van Rouwendaal | 2015 | 2024 | 3 | 4 | 1 | 8 | ||
| 7 | Aurélie Muller | 2011 | 2022 | 3 | 4 | – | 7 | ||
| 8 | Leonie Beck | 2019 | 2023 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 5 | ||
| 9 | 2000 | 2015 | 2 | 4 | 6 | 12 | |||
| 10 | 1998 | 2001 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 6 |