In our series of the Top 100 memories of the past decade, 2000-09, we reach our top 10 with a difference, starting with No 10:

The best 20 swimmers of the decade. 

Not hard to work out where Michael Phelps fits but there is no perfect way to work out who sits where on a pecking order of some of the finest athletes to roam the planet. The list below and the points attached to each entry are based on the following criteria:

• entry is only open to those with an Olympic solo title, the pinnacle of swimming achievement
• points are then awarded for each Olympic solo gold, for each world solo title, for each world record, the Olympic gold medal given the biggest weight of all
• bonus points are awarded for multiple wins at the same major world meet and for a title retained
• a longevity indicator awards points for each subsequent visit to the Olympic podium (at a 2nd and 3rd Games)
• a longevity indicator awards points for the length of time a world record is held 

Of course, there are imperfections in all of that, especially given a world in which some athletes had to get past a Chinese doping record, for example, while others had to get past the best clean athlete. Nonetheless, here is what the above calculation throws up:

A list with three Americans and three Australians in the top 10; with 7 Americans and 5 Australians in the top 20. Michael Phelps is best boy and Inge de Bruijn best girl. Three of the swimmers on the list do not have a world title to their name.

The top 20 swimmers 2000-09

• 1. Michael Phelps (USA) - 383
• 2. Inge de Bruijn (NED) - 149
• 3. Ian Thorpe (AUS) - 144
• 4. Aaron Peirsol (USA) - 132
• 5. Kosuke Kitajima (JPN) - 111
• 6. Yana Klochkova (UKR) - 104
• 7. Grant Hackett (AUS) - 92
• 8. Pieter Van den Hoogenband (NED) - 80
• 9. Leisel Jones (AUS) - 75
• 10. Tom Dolan (USA) - 62
• 11= Kirsty Coventry (ZIM); Britta Steffen (GER); Federica Pellegrini (ITA) - 56
• 14. Brooke Bennett (USA) - 55
• 15. Natalie Coughlin (USA) - 52
• 16= Susan O'Neill (AUS); Stephanie Rice (AUS) - 46
• 18= Amanda Beard (USA); Rebecca Adlington (GBR) - 38
• 20. Gary Hall Jnr (USA) - 37

USA - 7; AUS - 5; NED - 2; JPN, UKR, ZIM, GER, ITA, GBR - 1 each 

The Top 100 Memories:

Part I: 91 - 100, the year 2000.

Part II: 81 - 90, the year 2001.

Part III: 71 - 80, the year 2002.

Part IV: 61 - 70, the year 2003.

Part V: 51 - 60, the year 2004.

Part VI: 41 - 50, the year 2005.

Part VII: 31 - 40, the year 2006.

Part VIII: 21 - 30, the year 2007.

Part IX: 11 - 19, the years 2008-09.