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The Middle Three
People → South Africa → Nathan Swanepoel

People · South Africa

Nathan Swanepoel

2×2 · top 4.7% of 186,767 all-time · competing since January 2024 · 2024SWAN01

Nathan Swanepoel has been competing for 3 years. His best event is the 2×2: a personal-best single of 1.99, set at Cubestuff Centurion Q2 2026, puts him in the top 4.7% of the 186,767 people who have ever been ranked in the event, and 42nd in South Africa. Until February 2008, no official 2×2 solve in the world had been that fast. Across 14 competitions since January 2024, he has put 862 official solves on the record across eleven events. Solve to solve, his 3×3 times vary about 12% around a typical one, steadier than 67% of the 35,811 competitors with ten or more counted rounds. His 3×3 best has come down from 25.80 in January 2024 to 10.26, a 60% improvement. Nathan has entered 14 competitions, more competitions than 95% of everyone who has ever competed.

2×2
best event — top 4.7% of 186,767 all-time
1.99
signature single · Cubestuff Centurion Q2 2026
862
official solves on the record
12%
solve-to-solve spread · steadier than 67% of the field

Standing, event by event

vs everyone ever ranked
EventPB singlePB averageAll-time standingSouth Africa
2×21.992.90
top 4.7%42 / 1,510
3×310.2612.27
top 8.2%82 / 2,164
Square-111.5213.84
top 8.9%7 / 118
Pyraminx4.406.03
top 9.7%74 / 946
4×438.4245.54
top 10.2%28 / 491
Megaminx1:09.911:20.71
top 15.6%21 / 266
5×51:15.951:24.26
top 16.1%21 / 221
3×3 one-handed18.8122.41
top 17.3%49 / 467
Skewb5.167.74
top 19.4%70 / 438
Clock9.7310.22
top 23.8%28 / 148
3×3 blindfolded5:53.44—
early days — 1 solve46 / 53

Percentile against all competitors ever ranked in each event, a fairer measure than raw rank, because the pools differ by a factor of ten.

The line so far

Cubestuff Challenge Q1 2024: 25.80Cubestuff Challenge Q2 2024: 17.98Cubestuff Challenge Centurion Q3 2024: 15.42Inni-Horie-Fees 2024: 13.27Cubestuff Challenge Q4 Menlyn Park 2024: 13.14Cubestuff Challenge Centurion Hotel Q1 2025: 10.26CubingZA Nationals 2025: 11.64Cubestuff Challenge Centurion Q2 2025: 11.56Cubestuff Centurion Q3 2025: 10.87Cubestuff Q4 Zwartkop 2025: 11.17Cubestuff Centurion Q1 2026: 11.32Cubestuff Centurion Q2 2026: 10.40Cubestuff Grand Challenge - The Leonardo 2026: 11.51Cubestuff Challenge Centurion Q3 2026: 12.1110.2625.8027 Jan 20241 Aug 2026

Best single per competition, 3×3. Faster is higher — the axis is the right way up.

The story so far

Competitions

Reading this page: a single is one solve's time · an average is the middle three of five solves, best and worst discarded · a PB is a personal best · a DNF (did not finish) is an attempt with no valid result: a popped piece, an unsolved face, an over-limit memorisation · top X% compares against everyone ever ranked in that event, which is fairer than raw rank because event pools differ tenfold.

The circuit

The people whose scorecards keep turning up next to his.

Next targets

  • A sub-1 2×2 single — 1,032 people have one; it is 0.99 away.
  • A sub-10 3×3 single — 21,172 people have one; it is 0.26 away.

Targets move as he improves.