Paris 2024: What is a marathon swimming event?

The swim events always attract lots of attention at the Olympics. But while the indoor pool distances are pretty self-explanatory – everyone can guess what a 100m race is – the marathon swimming event is a little less well-understood.

That’s where this guide comes in though, as the marathon swim event is definitely worth watching.

Athletes need to manage the open-water conditions, as the marathon swim is held in outdoor water such as the sea or a lake. Plus they will be tested over a long period of time which will mean careful attention to nutrition, hydration, energy and pacing.

Ready to dive in? Here goes…

How long is a marathon swimming event?

Marathon swimmers have the longest time in the water as the marathon swimming distance is a whopping 10km. To put that into context, the average regular swimmer (ie this writer!) achieving a pretty normal triathletes’ pace of 2.5km per hour would take four hours to complete that distance.

However, the best in the sport competing at the Olympics will be hoping to finish the swim in a time closer to two hours.

In the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games marathon swim, gold was taken by Florian Wellbrock of Germany, in a time of 01:48:33. In the women’s event over the same distance it was Ana Marcella Cunha from Brazil, in 01:59:30.

The longest a triathlete will swim in open water at the Olympic Games is 1500m, as part of the standard Olympic triathlon distance. Read more about the fastest swimmers in triathlon here.

What is the Paris 2024 marathon swimming course like?

At the Paris 2024 Olympics, athletes will swim the marathon swim events in the River Seine. The swims will happen close to the famous Pont Alexandre III.

However there is a plan b in place should the water quality in the Seine make swimming there impossible. Should that be the case, the marathon swimming events will move to Vaires-sur-Marne, a nautical stadium located just outside Paris.

Read more about whether swims are likely to go ahead in the Seine here.

The 10km course will consist of a lapped route with athletes swimming six loops of the 1.66km course. They will need to fuel which will be done via long feeding poles, as rules forbid the athletes touching a boat/other craft during the event.

The women’s marathon swim event is scheduled to take place on 8th August at 07:30am, followed by the men’s event on 9th August at 07:30am. Find out more about how to watch the events here.

What other marathon swimming events are there?

The 10km distance has increased in popularity in recent years with the boom in open-water swimming. If you want to enter one yourself, there are plenty to enter!

There are many iconic events in the calendar you can choose from in the UK, including the Dart 10km, the Henley Thames Marathon and the Aquasphere Epic Events swim series in the Lake District.

There are a wide range of overseas events too, such as the Oceanman Swim series.