Swim Tiebreakers: What Happens When Swimmers Finish Simultaneously?

A tie for first place at a USA Swimming meet requires a rare procedure to determine the winner, according to officials. The potential for such a deadlock is present at multiple meets across the country this weekend, including Speedo Sectionals events in Indianapolis, Carmel, St. Mary’s City, Buffalo, and Ithaca, New York, all scheduled to run from March 26th through March 29th.

While uncommon, simultaneous finishes are a recognized possibility in swimming competitions. According to Swimming 101, a guide published by U.S. Masters Swimming, races are timed to the hundredth of a second. When swimmers record identical times, procedures are in place to break the tie.

USA Swimming’s event calendar, as of March 20, 2026, lists the Western Zone Senior Championships in Mesa, Arizona, concluding on March 22nd, as the most recently completed meet where a tie could have occurred. The calendar also details a series of webinars and committee meetings scheduled throughout March and April, including the National Operational Risk Committee Meeting on March 30th and the National Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Committee Meeting on March 31st, both held virtually.

The tie-breaking procedure typically involves reviewing the video replay of the finish, if available, to determine which swimmer touched the wall first. If the video review is inconclusive, the swimmers are typically declared co-champions. The specific rules governing tie-breaking procedures are determined by USA Swimming and are applied consistently across all sanctioned meets.

SwimPhone, a service providing live results and data for swim meets, offers tools for officials to review times and potentially assist in tie-breaking decisions. Swimcloud provides software to manage entries and results, but does not directly address tie-breaking procedures.

The potential for ties exists across all strokes – butterfly, backstroke, breaststroke, and freestyle – and over a range of distances, from 50 yards to 1,650 yards, as outlined in the U.S. Masters Swimming guide. The stakes of a tie can vary depending on the meet, ranging from qualifying for larger competitions to simply determining placement within a local event.

The Open Water National and Junior National Championships are scheduled for April 2nd through April 4th in Sarasota, Florida, presenting another opportunity for potential ties to occur. The Board of Directors Meeting is scheduled for April 17th in Frisco, Texas.