Henley Classic, live.

Dawn on the regatta course

The Henley Classic is a 2.1 km swim up the Henley Royal Regatta course at first light, on the Thames at Henley-on-Thames.

The 2027 Classic is on Sunday 27 June, and the swim starts at 4am. Swimmers go upstream along the boomed course from the regatta start towards the town of Henley-on-Thames, finishing near the church and the bridge. Every swimmer has to be off the course by 06:30.

The swim is organised by Henley Swim, which has had exclusive once a year access to the regatta course since 2004, and the event is hosted at Upper Thames Rowing Club. Swimmers must be at least 14 years old, wetsuits are optional, and the field is split into waves including performance and junior waves.

Based on previous years, the organisers expect the water at the end of June to be between 17 and 19 degrees. The course is a straight point to point swim with no turns along the booms, past Phyllis Court and the Members' Grandstand, and the strength of the stream varies from year to year, so no two events are the same.

Upper Thames Rowing Club is one kilometre from Henley town centre, and coffee and breakfast wait after the walk back. The same organiser runs the Thames Marathon from Henley to Marlow on Sunday 8 August 2027, and a season pass covers all three Henley Swim events of 2027.

On Livebib you can follow a swimmer live if they choose to share their own position from the phone they carry, for example in a tow float or on an escort boat. That position comes from the swimmer, not from the organiser's timing, and the official results are published by the organiser.