“Am I fast enough for UltraSwim 33.3?”

We hear this question *a lot*, so we thought we’d provide some insights in the form of a good old-fashioned chart to put your mind at ease.

Is Speed the Only Metric?

FIRSTLY - 90% of our participants worry about their speed, ok, so you’re not alone. UltraSwim 33.3 is a tough challenge - but accessible to any determined open water swimmer and our team is here to help you every step of the way.

Here’s what you need to know:

This chart shows the distribution of speeds in km/h from 120 swimmers at #2Montenegro in 2023
Our cut-off times are based on 2km/h in good conditions, for which we estimate you should be able to swim at least 2.5km in one hour in a pool.
The average swimmer speed across the timed sections of the 33.3km course in Montenegro was 2.9km/h
Nearly 60% of swimmers averaged less than 3km/h
Less than 9% in #2Monetenegro 2023 didn’t make a cut off time on one or more of the 5 timed stages (but still started all the stages)
Less than 20% in #1Monetengro 2022 didn’t make a cut-off time (colder and rougher conditions)

Ps. The challenge will always be there, no matter where your speed lives on the curve!