What is a good 100 backstroke time?
Athlete Quotient's men's D1 benchmark is 51.5, with D2 at 54.5, D3 at 56.0 and high school varsity at 57.0. The elite D1 rung is 47.2. The women's D1 benchmark is 55.00, with D2 at 58.50, D3 at 60.00 and high school varsity at 62.50. The elite D1 rung is 52.28.
The 100 backstroke time ladder
Times are short course yards (SCY), the format nearly every American high school and college dual meet swims.
| Rung | 100 Backstroke Time |
|---|---|
| D1 elite | 47.2 |
| D1 | 51.5 |
| D1 floor | 53.0 |
| D2 | 54.5 |
| D3 | 56.0 |
| HS varsity | 57.0 |
| Rung | 100 Backstroke Time |
|---|---|
| D1 elite | 52.28 |
| D1 | 55.00 |
| D1 floor | 57.50 |
| D2 | 58.50 |
| D3 | 60.00 |
| HS varsity | 62.50 |
The number that actually matters
On the men's ladder, the distance from the high school varsity rung (57.0) to the D1 rung (51.5) is 5.5. On the women's ladder, the distance from the high school varsity rung (62.50) to the D1 rung (55.00) is 7.50. That gap is the actual answer to "is my 100 backstroke time good" - not a yes or a no, but a distance you can train against.
Check your number
Check your 100 backstroke time against this ladder
Type your 100 backstroke time 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.
Find out where your number lands
A benchmark 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 this ladder comes from. Your first score is free.
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Common questions
What is a good 100 backstroke time?
Athlete Quotient's men's D1 benchmark is 51.5, with D2 at 54.5, D3 at 56.0 and high school varsity at 57.0. The elite D1 rung is 47.2. The women's D1 benchmark is 55.00, with D2 at 58.50, D3 at 60.00 and high school varsity at 62.50. The elite D1 rung is 52.28.
What 100 backstroke time do you need for D2 or D3?
The men's D2 rung is 54.5, men's D3 is 56.0, the women's D2 rung is 58.50 and women's D3 is 60.00. The same rule applies at every level: the number that matters is your distance to the rung above.
What is a good 100 backstroke time for a 15 year old?
Athlete Quotient benchmarks by level, not age. A 15 year old on varsity measures against the same high school varsity rung as a 17 year old, because college coaches recruit against the level an athlete competes at, not the birthday. What changes with age is time - how many training seasons remain to close the gap to the next rung.
How to read this
Each rung is a bar on the Athlete Quotient benchmark ladder - the same tables the scoring engine uses, exported from it rather than retyped, so this page can never quietly disagree with a score. 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.