A CFD analysis has been performed in order to analyze the effect of the swimmer's head position on the hydrodynamic performances in underwater swimming. The problem was modeled as 2D and in steady hydrodynamic state. Turbulence of the flow was accounted with the standard k–ε model. Three positions of the head were studied, for a range of Reynolds numbers about 106. The numerical results show that the position of the head plays a very important role for high swimming velocities. They reveal that the position of the head has a noticeable effect on the hydrodynamic performances, strongly modifying the wake around the swimmer. At low speed (1.4 m/s) the effect of the change in the position of the head is weak whereas this position may significantly alter the total drag at high velocities. In that case, it is possible to reduce the drag by about 20% if the head of the swimmer is kept aligned instead of being lowered. Based on a 2D analysis, these results made it possible to propose an optimal position of the head of a swimmer in underwater swimming. However, restrictions inherent to the use of a 2D steady flow model to investigate a really unsteady 3D flow must be kept in mind when analyzing the present results. Important 3D effects could not be taken into account in this preliminary study that should be principally used as a marker for future studies. Further calculations developed with a 3D modeling will be needed to confirm the previous results.