Judging by how fast the field fills up, the Great Chesapeake Bay Swim is the most popular open water swim in America. It is a credit to its organizers, the local community and its volunteers for maintaining its prestige over the years.

The longer and older of the two events on race day – the 4.4-mile mile maxes out within minutes – while the shorter event is a great introduction for those new to the sport.

In 2010, the 691 athletes in the 4.4-mile race were 33% female and 67% male which is right around the average for the male-female percentages of open water swims in the United States. But the race skews slightly older than the average American open water swim.

On the women’s side:
1% are 15-19 years
7% are 20-29 years
9% are 30-39 years
10% are 40-49 years
5% are 50-59 years
1% are over 60 years

On the men’s side:
1% are 16-20 years
4% are 20-29 years
15% are 30-39 years
25% are 40-49 years
17% are 50-59 years
5% are over 60 years

Interestingly, on the shorter swim with 443 athletes in 2010, 51% were female and 49% were male with the following age break-down:

On the women’s side:
4% are 9-14 years
3.5% are 15-19 years
7% are 20-29 years
10.5% are 30-39 years
17.5% are 40-49 years
6% are 50-59 years
2.5% are 60-69

On the men’s side:
3.5% are 9-14 years
3% are 15-19 years
6% are 20-29 years
10.5% are 30-39 years
17% are 40-49 years
7% are 50-59 years
2% are 60-69 years

This year’s Great Chesapeake Bay Swim will be on June 12th when another open water swimming classic will take place.

Copyright © 2011 by Open Water Source