What Is the Average Human Swimming Speed?

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A swimmer with average skills can swim approximately 2 miles per hour. This is roughly equivalent to taking 56 seconds to swim the 50-meter length of an Olympic-sized pool.

Swimming speed is dependent on several variables, including the physical condition of the swimmer, the level of training the swimmer has, and the stroke used. For most swimmers, the front crawl is the fastest and most efficient stroke. With proper training, a swimmer in good condition can exceed 4 miles per hour using the front crawl. The current record for the 50-meter crawl is 20.91 seconds, which is the equivalent of swimming 5.39 miles per hour.