Swimming benchmarks: what each level actually looks like
These are the times Athlete Quotient scores every swimmer against - not a coach's opinion, and not a chart copied from a message board. Times are short course yards, the format nearly every American high school and college dual meet swims. Men's and women's ladders are separate, because the standards are.
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Swimming time benchmarks by level (SCY)
| Event | D1 elite | D1 | D1 floor | D2 | D3 | HS varsity |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 50 Freestyle | 19.7 | 21.0 | 21.8 | 22.3 | 22.9 | 23.5 |
| 100 Freestyle | 43.3 | 46.0 | 47.8 | 48.8 | 50.0 | 51.0 |
| 200 Freestyle | 95.4 | 102.0 | 104.0 | 107.0 | 110.0 | 115.0 |
| 500 Freestyle | 261.3 | 276.0 | 283.0 | 290.0 | 300.0 | 315.0 |
| 100 Backstroke | 47.2 | 51.5 | 53.0 | 54.5 | 56.0 | 57.0 |
| 100 Breaststroke | 53.4 | 58.0 | 59.5 | 61.0 | 62.5 | 65.0 |
| 100 Butterfly | 46.8 | 51.0 | 52.0 | 53.5 | 55.0 | 57.0 |
| 200 IM | 105.7 | 114.0 | 117.0 | 120.0 | 123.0 | 128.0 |
| Event | D1 elite | D1 | D1 floor | D2 | D3 | HS varsity |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 50 Freestyle | 22.11 | 23.20 | 24.20 | 24.80 | 25.40 | 26.50 |
| 100 Freestyle | 48.34 | 50.50 | 52.50 | 53.80 | 55.00 | 57.50 |
| 200 Freestyle | 104.8 | 109.5 | 113.5 | 116.5 | 119.5 | 124.0 |
| 500 Freestyle | 281.19 | 293.00 | 303.00 | 311.00 | 319.00 | 333.00 |
| 100 Backstroke | 52.28 | 55.00 | 57.50 | 58.50 | 60.00 | 62.50 |
| 100 Breaststroke | 59.75 | 62.50 | 65.00 | 66.50 | 68.00 | 71.50 |
| 100 Butterfly | 51.88 | 54.50 | 57.00 | 58.50 | 60.00 | 62.50 |
| 200 IM | 117.03 | 122.50 | 127.00 | 130.00 | 133.00 | 138.00 |
Your numbers are on this ladder. Type them once and the scorer places them, 0-100, against these same benchmarks.
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Where does your mark land?
Pick your event, type your time or mark (distance events take 4:52 or total seconds), and it is read against the ladder above, right here on the page. It is never sent and never stored.
One number is one rung. Your full AQ Score reads all five dimensions against these same tables - free, no account needed.
Place your numbers on this ladder
A table tells you the bar. Your AQ Score tells you where you stand against it - all five dimensions, your gaps, and the level you actually fit, scored by the same engine these benchmarks come from. Your first score is free.
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Common questions
What is a good 50 freestyle for a college swimming recruit?
Athlete Quotient's men's D1 benchmark is 21.0, with D2 at 22.3, D3 at 22.9, and high school varsity at 23.5. The women's D1 benchmark is 23.20, with D2 at 24.80 and D3 at 25.40.
What is a good 100 freestyle for a college swimming recruit?
Athlete Quotient's men's D1 benchmark is 46.0, with D2 at 48.8, D3 at 50.0, and high school varsity at 51.0. The women's D1 benchmark is 50.50, with D2 at 53.80 and D3 at 55.00.
How to read these
Each column is a rung on the Athlete Quotient benchmark ladder - the bar the engine scores every athlete against - not a cutoff and not an entry price. Being under a rung does not close a door. It tells you the size of the gap, which is the only number you can actually train against.
These are Athlete Quotient's own benchmarks. Where a published college figure exists we use it; where none exists, the rung is ours. We would rather say that than claim a source we do not have.
These tables are the same ones the scoring engine uses, exported from it rather than retyped, so a page can never quietly disagree with a score. More: how AQ builds benchmarks.