The Swimming Tournament at the 1979 Pan American Games took place in the Piscina Olimpica del Escambron in San Juan, Puerto Rico from July 2 to July 8, 1979.[1] [2]
Three world records were broken at this edition of the Games, all by U.S. swimmers.
| 100 m freestyle | 50.77 | 51.25 | 51.45 | ||||
| 200 m freestyle | 1:51.22 | 1:52.24 | 1:52.34 | ||||
| 400 m freestyle | 3:53.01 | 3:57.46 | 3:58.34 | ||||
| 1500 m freestyle | 15:24.36 | 15:41.74 | 15:46.83 | ||||
| 100 m backstroke | 56.66 | 57.20 | 57.89 | ||||
| 200 m backstroke | 2:00.98 | 2:02.07 | 2:04.74 | ||||
| 100 m breaststroke | 1:03.82 | 1:04.76 | 1:05.66 | ||||
| 200 m breaststroke | 2:21.97 | 2:22.45 | 2:23.13 | ||||
| 100 m butterfly | 55.54 | 55.56 | 56.63 | ||||
| 200 m butterfly | 2:00.49 | 2:02.15 | 2:02.93 | ||||
| 200 m individual medley | 2:03.29 WR | 2:05.86 | 2:06.29 | ||||
| 400 m individual medley | 4:21.63 | 4:30.21 | 4:32.42 | ||||
| 4×100 m freestyle relay | 3:23.71 | 3:29.64 | 3:30.86 | ||||
| 4×200 m freestyle relay | 7:31.28 | 7:38.92 | 7:39.27 | ||||
| 4×100 m medley relay | 3:47.20 | 3:50.02 | 3:54.63 | ||||
| 100 m freestyle | 56.22 | 56.24 | 57.79 | ||||
| 200 m freestyle | 1:58.43 WR | 2:01.92 | 2:03.38 | ||||
| 400 m freestyle | 4:10.56 | 4:16.13 | 4:17.34 | ||||
| 800 m freestyle | 8:39.82 | 8:50.71 | 8:54.82 | ||||
| 100 m backstroke | 1:03.33 | 1:05.17 | 1:06.87 | ||||
| 200 m backstroke | 2:16.07 | 2:17.58 | 2:20.19 | ||||
| 100 m breaststroke | 1:12.20 | 1:12.52 | 1:14.38 | ||||
| 200 m breaststroke | 2:35.75 | 2:40.22 | 2:40.79 | ||||
| 100 m butterfly | 1:00.53 | 1:00.59 | 1:02.96 | ||||
| 200 m butterfly | 2:09.77 WR | 2:15.05 | 2:16.40 | ||||
| 200 m individual medley | 2:16.11 | 2:19.36 | 2:20.33 | ||||
| 400 m individual medley | 4:46.05 | 4:47.19 | 4:53.37 | ||||
| 4×100 m freestyle relay | 3:45.82 | 3:50.18 | 4:02.05 | ||||
| 4×100 m medley relay | 4:13.24 | 4:20.16 | 4:30.59 | ||||