# Swim pace calculator > A 500m swim in 10:00 averages 2:00 per 100m. Enter distance and elapsed time to find pace, or calculate time or distance from a selected pace. Choose metres or yards and keep the pool course with an actual result. URL: https://opencontest.app/guides/swim-pace-calculator/ Published: 2026-11-12 Author: The OpenContest team Choose the value you want to calculate, then enter the other two. Use whole minutes and seconds below 60, with decimal seconds supported. The distance unit also sets the pace basis per 100 metres or 100 yards. ## Read pace with its distance and elapsed time A pace of 2:00 per 100m means 120 seconds for each 100 metres. Holding that pace over 500m gives 10:00. Holding it over 1,500m gives 30:00. U.S. Masters Swimming publishes the same per-100 convention for yards and metres, with a chart of maintained-pace times. [USMS swimming pace chart](https://www.usms.org/fitness-and-training/fitness-pace-chart) Use distance and time from the same swim or work period. If your entered elapsed time includes a rest, that rest contributes to the calculated average. Keep the distance, stroke, pool length and timing method beside a completed result. The finish-time table scales the selected pace across each distance. Sustaining it over a longer swim depends on the swimmer and conditions. For repeated swims, keep the swimming time and any recovery interval in your record so another person can follow the timing. ## How the calculation works Use elapsed time in seconds and express distance and the pace basis in the same unit. - Seconds per 100 equal `100 × elapsed seconds ÷ distance`. - Elapsed seconds equal `distance × seconds per 100 ÷ 100`. - Distance equals `elapsed seconds × 100 ÷ seconds per 100`. For example, 15:00 is 900 seconds. At 1:30 per 100m, `900 × 100 ÷ 90` gives 1,000m. A 1,000yd swim in 20:00 gives `1,200 × 100 ÷ 1,000`, or 2:00 per 100yd. Times and distances are displayed to the nearest tenth. Values smaller than the display resolution use a less-than sign. Each displayed result is rounded independently, while calculations use the entered values. ## Keep units and pool course in view One yard equals exactly 0.9144 metres. A distance of 500m is about 546.8yd. At a maintained 2:00 per 100m, the same physical pace is about 1:49.7 per 100yd and the total time remains 10:00. The unit switch converts distance and the per-100 pace together. [NIST yard-to-metre definition](https://www.nist.gov/pml/special-publication-811/nist-guide-si-appendix-b-conversion-factors) A result also has a course, start, stroke and number of turns. Keep those details with the measurement when comparing swims. This tool performs distance, time and pace arithmetic. A target for a different distance or course still depends on maintaining the selected pace under those conditions. Use **Copy target link** to keep the selected mode, units and inputs. Opening the link restores the target at the calculator heading. If clipboard access is unavailable, select the link in the field and copy it manually. Correct a highlighted invalid input before changing mode or units so your edited values remain available. ## Record an actual 50m attempt The published OpenContest test allows a 25m pool with two lengths and one turn, or a 50m pool with one length. Start with a push off from the wall in the water. Time from feet leaving the wall to the final hand touch, and retain the pool length and stroke with the result. Review the permitted equipment, filming and timing details before recording. [50m swim rules](/contests/swim-50m/) OpenContest is prelaunch. You can use its published rules with your own scorecard today and [join the waitlist for launch updates](/#get). The [filming guide](/guides/film-a-take-that-counts/) explains how to keep a continuous recording usable for another person's review. ## Questions ### How do I calculate swimming pace per 100m? Divide elapsed seconds by distance in metres, then multiply by 100. A 500m swim in 10:00 gives 600 divided by 500 times 100, or 120 seconds per 100m. ### What does 2:00 per 100 yards mean? It expresses an average of two minutes for every 100 yards. At that maintained pace, 500 yards takes 10:00 and 1,000 yards takes 20:00. ### What happens when I switch between metres and yards? The calculator converts distance and pace together while retaining elapsed time. One yard equals exactly 0.9144 metres, so 100 yards equals 91.44 metres. The pace label changes to per 100m or per 100yd. ### Will I swim a longer distance in the projected time? A projection assumes you maintain the selected pace over the requested distance. Record your completed distance and actual elapsed time, including how you handled rest, before comparing results. ### Can I use a yard pool for the OpenContest 50m test? The published 50m test allows a 25m or 50m pool. It uses a push off from the wall, timed from feet leaving the wall to the final hand touch. Record the course and stroke beside the actual time.