This is the first part of a series of posts looking back at 2018 long-distance racing. It lists the best swims using two different measures:
- Time: This is the actual time an athlete took to complete the leg.
- Performance: Because of course conditions, comparing the actual time is not always meaningful. As part of my analysis I calculate a “Normalized Time” that as much as possible takes out the impact of the course into the time.
TOP 10 Swim Times of 2018
| Rank | Name | Actual Time | Race |
| 1 | Jesper Svensson | 00:43:47 | IM Brasil on 2018-05-27 |
| 2 | Marcus Vinicius Fernandes | 00:43:50 | IM Brasil on 2018-05-27 |
| 3 | Luiz Francisco Paiva Ferreira | 00:43:51 | IM Brasil on 2018-05-27 |
| 4 | Ivan Rana | 00:43:59 | IM Cozumel on 2018-11-18 |
| 5 | Lukasz Wojt | 00:44:31 | IM Austria on 2018-07-01 |
| 6 | Igor Amorelli | 00:44:45 | IM Brasil on 2018-05-27 |
| 7 | Lukasz Wojt | 00:45:29 | IM Italy on 2018-09-22 |
| 8 | Guillem Rojas | 00:45:34 | IM Barcelona on 2018-10-07 |
| 9 | Mark Bowstead | 00:45:47 | IM Australia on 2018-05-06 |
| 10 | Dylan McNeice | 00:45:53 | IM New Zealand on 2018-03-03 |
TOP 10 Swim Times of 2018
| Rank | Name | Actual Time | Race |
| 1 | Lucy Charles | 00:46:48 | Challenge Roth on 2018-07-01 |
| 2 | Haley Chura | 00:47:29 | IM Brasil on 2018-05-27 |
| 3 | Lucy Charles | 00:47:32 | IM South Africa on 2018-04-15 |
| 4 | Lucy Charles | 00:48:14 | IM Hawaii on 2018-10-13 |
| Lauren Brandon | (00:48:19) | IM Texas on 2018-04-28 | |
| 5 | Lauren Brandon | 00:48:39 | IM Cairns on 2018-06-10 |
| 6 | Kelsey Withrow | 00:48:41 | IM Cozumel on 2018-11-18 |
| 7 | Kelsey Withrow | 00:48:42 | IM Australia on 2018-05-06 |
| 8 | Teresa Adam | 00:49:32 | IM New Zealand on 2018-03-03 |
| 9 | Teresa Adam | 00:50:41 | IM Cairns on 2018-06-10 |
| 10 | Lauren Brandon | 00:50:41 | IM Mont Tremblant on 2018-08-19 |
TOP 10 Swim Performances of 2018
| Rank | Name | Normalized Time | Actual Time | Race |
| 1 | Josh Amberger | 00:45:19 | 00:46:53 | IM Germany on 2018-07-08 |
| 2 | Lukasz Wojt | 00:45:25 | 00:44:31 | IM Austria on 2018-07-01 |
| 3 | Guillem Rojas | 00:46:04 | 00:45:34 | IM Barcelona on 2018-10-07 |
| 4 | Lukasz Wojt | 00:46:05 | 00:45:29 | IM Italy on 2018-09-22 |
| 5 | Marko Albert | 00:46:09 | 00:46:12 | IM Tallinn on 2018-08-04 |
| 6 | Carlos Lopez Diaz | 00:46:12 | 00:46:10 | Challenge Madrid on 2018-09-23 |
| 7 | Pablo Dapena Gonzalez | 00:46:15 | 00:46:13 | Challenge Madrid on 2018-09-23 |
| 8 | Josh Amberger | 00:46:32 | 00:46:24 | IM South Africa on 2018-04-15 |
| 9 | Jesper Svensson | 00:46:36 | 00:43:47 | IM Brasil on 2018-05-27 |
| 10 | Marcus Vinicius Fernandes | 00:46:40 | 00:43:50 | IM Brasil on 2018-05-27 |
TOP 10 Swim Performances of 2018
| Rank | Name | Normalized Time | Actual Time | Race |
| Lauren Brandon | (00:47:26) | (00:48:19) | IM Texas on 2018-04-28 | |
| 1 | Lucy Charles | 00:47:34 | 00:48:14 | IM Hawaii on 2018-10-13 |
| 2 | Lucy Charles | 00:47:40 | 00:47:32 | IM South Africa on 2018-04-15 |
| 3 | Lucy Charles | 00:48:24 | 00:46:48 | Challenge Roth on 2018-07-01 |
| 4 | Lauren Brandon | 00:48:47 | 00:50:41 | IM Mont Tremblant on 2018-08-19 |
| 5 | Lauren Brandon | 00:48:59 | 00:48:39 | IM Cairns on 2018-06-10 |
| 6 | Haley Chura | 00:49:01 | 00:52:05 | IM Netherlands on 2018-08-05 |
| 7 | Haley Chura | 00:50:33 | 00:47:29 | IM Brasil on 2018-05-27 |
| 8 | Teresa Adam | 00:50:40 | 00:49:32 | IM New Zealand on 2018-03-03 |
| 9 | Teresa Adam | 00:51:02 | 00:50:41 | IM Cairns on 2018-06-10 |
| 10 | Teresa Adam | 00:51:17 | 00:52:00 | IM Hawaii on 2018-10-13 |