Best Swimming Movies
& Books of All Time

The true story of Yusra and Sara Mardini’s journey from war-torn Damascus through the Mediterranean to the Olympic Games. Premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival.

“The definitive refugee sports film. Combines harrowing ocean survival with the joy of competitive swimming. The pool scenes are technically perfect and the Aegean Sea sequence is devastating.”

Annette Bening and Jodie Foster star in the true story of Diana Nyad’s quest to swim 110 miles from Cuba to Florida at age 64. Five attempts over 35 years.

“The open-water swimming cinematography is the best ever filmed. Bening’s performance is ferocious. It captures the obsession, the jellyfish, the hallucinations, and the refusal to quit.”

Yusra Mardini’s autobiography. From the swimming pools of Damascus to the open sea to the Olympic Games. Named after her signature stroke and the transformation it represents.

“Written in Yusra’s own voice with raw honesty about trauma, displacement, and rebuilding. The chapter on the Aegean crossing is one of the most intense pieces of sports writing ever published.”

Based on the true story of LGBTQ+ activists who raised money for Welsh mining communities during the 1984 miners’ strike. Features a pivotal swimming pool scene that became iconic.

“While not a swimming movie per se, the pool scene is one of the most emotionally powerful swimming moments in cinema. A story about unlikely solidarity that resonates deeply.”

Follows Missy Franklin and Kara Lynn Joyce through three years of training leading up to the 2012 London Olympics. An intimate look at two swimmers at opposite ends of their careers.

“The most technically accurate swimming documentary ever made. The underwater footage is stunning. Shows the real sacrifices behind Olympic swimming — the 4 AM practices, the isolation, the pressure.”

Spalding Gray’s legendary monologue about his experience as a bit-part actor in The Killing Fields and his quest to find the “perfect moment” while swimming in the ocean off Thailand.

“Not a swimming movie in the traditional sense — it’s a one-man show. But the swimming sequences and Gray’s philosophical reflections on water, bodies, and mortality are unforgettable. A masterpiece of storytelling.”

Diana Nyad’s memoir detailing her lifelong obsession with the Cuba-to-Florida swim. Covers her childhood, her career, her 30-year break from swimming, and her five attempts at the crossing.

“More detailed than the movie. Nyad’s voice is relentless and compelling. The passages on jellyfish stings, saltwater hallucinations, and the psychological warfare of 53-hour swims are unmatched.”

The story of Louis Zamperini, an Olympic distance runner and WWII bombardier who survived 47 days adrift on a raft in the Pacific Ocean after his plane crashed.

“The ocean survival sequences are some of the most grueling water scenes in film. While Zamperini was a runner, not a swimmer, his fight against the Pacific Ocean is a swimming survival story at its core.”

Three young people with autism find purpose, confidence, and competition through a swim team in New Jersey. Chronicles their journey from therapeutic swimming to a competitive traveling team.

“Shows a side of competitive swimming rarely seen — the therapeutic and community-building power of the sport. Genuinely moving without being patronizing. Won multiple documentary awards.”

British naturalist Roger Deakin’s account of swimming through the waterways of Britain — rivers, lakes, seas, moats, ponds, pools, and even a flooded quarry. Part nature writing, part swimming memoir.

“The most beautifully written book about swimming ever published. Deakin makes you feel the water on your skin. It launched the wild swimming movement and changed how people think about outdoor swimming in Britain.”

Two childhood friends become rival free divers competing to break the world record for deepest dive. Starring Jean-Marc Barr and Jean Reno. Loosely based on real free diver Jacques Mayol.

“Visually stunning underwater cinematography that influenced a generation of ocean films. The philosophical take on humanity’s relationship with water is haunting. A cult classic that defined free diving in cinema.”

Daisy Ridley stars as Trudy Ederle, the first woman to swim the English Channel in 1926. Covers her childhood, her Olympic medal, and her historic 14-hour channel crossing.

“A long-overdue film about one of the most important athletes in history. The channel swimming sequences are beautifully shot, and Ridley captures Ederle’s determination and defiance against an era that said women couldn’t.”

A literary and cultural history of swimming from ancient Greece to the modern era. Covers Byron, Shelley, Leander, Johnny Weissmuller, and the philosophical meaning of immersion.

“The most intellectually ambitious book about swimming ever written. Sprawson connects swimming to literature, mythology, and psychology in ways nobody else has. Essential reading for anyone who loves the sport.”

A hilarious YA novel about three teenage boys who set themselves one summer goal each. Matt’s goal: learn to swim the 100-yard butterfly. Complications ensue involving a girl, a dare, and a public pool.

“The funniest swimming book ever written. Captures the teenage experience of competitive swimming perfectly — the chlorine smell, the speedo anxiety, the brutal butterfly stroke. A gateway book for young swimmers.”

A recently laid-off Scottish shipyard worker decides to swim the English Channel at age 55. His working-class community rallies behind him as he trains in the freezing River Clyde.

“A quiet, deeply human film about second chances and the working-class swimming tradition. Peter Mullan’s performance is understated perfection. The cold-water training scenes will make you shiver.”