How fast do humans swim compared to their animal-kingdom compatriots?

Actually, we don't stack up too well. The fastest Olympic swimmer crawls along at about 8 km/hr (5 mph). That's faster than shrimp, kelp and jellyfish, but it won't intimidate many other animal aquanaughts.

And what is the fastest water-creature? The sailfish, a species which has been clocked at speeds of 110 km/hour (68 mph)!! That's twice the speed of any nuclear submarine.

Here's a list of how we humans compare to other swimmers.

Shrimp ...................................3 km/hr = 2 mph
Humans ................................8 km/hr 5 mph
Walruses ................................24 km/hr = 15 mph
Turtles (Leatherback) ............35 km/hr = 22 mph
Penguins ................................35 km/hr = 22 mph
Dolphins ................................46 km/hr = 29 mph
Sailfish ...................................110 km/hr = 68mph


References:
1. Carol Gold & Hugh Westrup, How Sport Works: An Ontario Science Centre book, Kids Can Press, 1988.
2. Yahoo Answers, “What are the fastest swimming mammals?”
http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20090904103555AAeDnUU

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