(3) Mao Zedong. I know his famous, well-recorded swims across the Yangtze River were for propaganda purposes. But they were recorded (albeit wildly exaggerated) and he did the last one in his 70s, so he was clearly a formidable swimmer. Plus, he'd likely take PEDs. Ok, back to grading.

(2) Julius Caesar. Suetonius noted that during the siege of Mytilene, his ship sank. He was not only able to swim to safety but he did so while carrying important papers above his head. That kind of staminia would have made him formidable in distance events

(1) Charlemagne. He was at least 6'3" (Einhard said he was 7 times the length of his foot). You can only assess "the greats" relative to their own era, and given his size and athleticism, coupled with his devotion to swimming and reputation as an amazing swimmer, makes him the clear #1.

Interesting. Figes hates him, but I can't imagine he'd say it without solid evidence. Thanks for the info.

I don't think there's any support for the idea that he sued for back rent! As you likely know, though, he did think that the famine would bring social change faster, so he said some cold things about it.

Have you read Figgis "A People's Tragedy"? He flags that aspect of Lenin a lot, maybe that's where you read it?