Since 1928, 625 swimmers have swam across the Strait of Gibraltar. 85% male swimmers and 15% female.
Where swimmers come from
66% of swimmers are from four countries: Spain (38%), USA (11%), UK (10%) and India (8%). 62% of male swimmers come from 3 countries: Spain (38%), UK (10%), and the USA (9%). On the women side, 64% of them come from the USA (24%), Spain (20%) and India (20%). Big news for me to see the large representation of Indian female swimmers in this group.
| Country | Total swimmers | Men | Women |
| Spain | 38% | 43% | 20% |
| USA | 11% | 9% | 24% |
| UK | 10% | 10% | 6% |
| India | 8% | 5% | 20% |
| Italy | 5% | 5% | 1% |
| South Africa | 4% | 3% | 5% |
| Argentina | 3% | 3% | 1% |
| Germany | 3% | 2% | 4% |
| Australia | 2% | 2% | 3% |
| Ireland | 2% | 2% | 2% |
| Mexico | 1% | 2% | 2% |
| Portugal | 1% | 2% | 0% |
| Brazil | 1% | 1% | 1% |
| France | 1% | 1% | 1% |
| Greece | 1% | 1% | 2% |
| Other | 9% | 9% | 8% |
How long it takes them to swim across the Strait
The average time it has taken swimmers to cross Gibraltar is 4 hours 41 minutes. Male swimmers’ average is 4 hours 39 minutes, while women’s average time is 4 hours 51 minutes.
Relative speed by swimmer segments (of at least 10 swimmers)
Setting the overall average crossing time as index = 100, we see that the fastest segment of swimmers are South African men. Also faster than the average crossing time are Australian men, Spanish men, Spanish women and US women. The slowest segments are Indian men and women. Also slowern than the average are Argentinian men, UK men, German men and Italian men.
| Swimmer segments | Average = index 100 |
| Women India | 110.2 |
| Men India | 110.2 |
| Men Argentina | 105.1 |
| Women average | 103.3 |
| Men UK | 101.1 |
| Men Italy | 100.7 |
| Men Germany | 100.7 |
| Total Average | 100 |
| Women US | 99.6 |
| Men average | 99.3 |
| Men USA | 98.9 |
| Women Spain | 97.1 |
| Men Spain | 95.6 |
| Men Australia | 93.1 |
| Men South Africa | 91.3 |
Swimmers getting faster
From 1929 to 1949, the average swim across the Strait of Gibraltar took more than 11 hours. between 1950 and 1999, the average swim came down to between 5.5 hours and 6 hours. In the last decade, swimmers’ average has further come down to 4:31.
| Year of crossing | Time |
| 1929 – 1949 | 11:17 |
| 1950 – 1969 | 05:37 |
| 1970 – 1989 | 06:00 |
| 1990 – 1999 | 05:27 |
| 2000 – 2012 | 04:31 |
When they swim
August and September are the most popular months to cross the Strait of Gibraltar.
May and July are the months with the fastest average crossings.
August has the warmest waters with July and September temperatures slightly colder.
| Crossings | Average time | Water temperature in Tarifa | |
| May | 4% | 04:23 | 18 C (64.4 F) |
| Jun | 11% | 04:35 | 21 C (69.8 F) |
| Jul | 17% | 04:32 | 23 C (73.4F) |
| Aug | 28% | 04:44 | 24C (75.2 F) |
| Sept | 29% | 04:43 | 23 C (73.4F) |
| Oct | 11% | 04:44 | 21C (69.8F) |
| Total | 100% | 04:41 |
How they cross (solo or in a group)?
A large majority of successful swims are done solo. The second most popular format is in pairs, which accounts for 26% of crossings. Crossing in groups of 3 or more account for less than 10% of successful swims. The time it takes to swim across the Strait of Gibraltar varies, but it is tough to say if there is any correlation.
| Number of swimmers in crossing | % of crossings | Time of crossing |
| Solo | 64% | 04:41 |
| 2 | 26% | 04:46 |
| 3 | 4% | 04:14 |
| 4 | 3% | 04:37 |
| More than 5 | 2% | 04:07 |
If any of you wants me to take a look at these stats with a different angle, just leave a comment and I’ll look into it.
Categories: Gibraltar
Swim4Good 
M — what about age distribution?John
Hi John. I don’t have that info at this point by I will look into it and get back to you once I get it.
Any shark attacks?
Kidding.
Sort of.
🙂
Do you know the current amount of females to have completed the swim? I leave in 2 weeks for my Gibraltar Swim and was wondering how many women went before me!
Thanks, Kerry
Hi Kerry. As of last year (fall/spring), there had been around 90 women that had swam successfully across the strait. Good luck with your swim, and we would love to hear back from you afterwards. Keep in touch and best of luck.
What is the most common reason for those unable to finish? Jellyfish? Shark Attacks? Lack of training? Any stats on that?
Hi Juan. We don’t have access to stats on unsuccessful attempts. However, we can discard the shark attacks as a cause. Assuming that all those attempting the swim are prepared to swim the distance on normal conditions, the most likely reason for unsuccessful attempts is related to the weather (wind, currents). Changing weather conditions could make a crossing very difficult or impossible regardless of the swimmer’s ability.
How old must you be to swim the strait, and will it cost any money? (I’m hoping to do it to raise money for Africa)
Hi Megan. I am not sure about the minimum age. In terms of cost, it’s about 1500 euros for an individual cross, and around 700€ for additional swimmers. You can find more info in http://www.acneg.com/. Good luck!
John, do you know the stats for wetsuits vs. non-wetsuits?
Attempt vs success ratio?
Hi Emily. I have attempted to get this info but have not had any success in getting it. If I find something out, I’ll let you know.
Is there only one service, ACNEG, that allows swimmers to do this crossing and be an official time? We had been planning on swimming it and waited for them to update their 2014 information – then all of a sudden they said they are booked for the year – It was only Jan 17th when we were looking
Hi Brandon. Yes, its only ACNEG. They do fill up very quickly and it seems like their website is not kept up to date. Find out when is the first day to send the application for next year and make sure to send it that day as soon as possible. All the best.