How much do triathlete need to learn about swimming?
Former Member
I do not mean this as a heartless criticism of triathletes. I actually enjoy the sport. But many of them start doing triathlons with almost no knowledge or experience in swimming. Here are a couple of choice comments to the thread I linked below. Thank goodness I knew how to ride a bike and run before I started doing tris - but not well. Give them credit for taking it on, but I do think they should learn to swim before entering one.
"The swim is short ( 150 yards ), and I can make it..not without stopping a couple of times at the end of the pool."
"A lot of pool sprints are so newbie friendly that they let you get through the water any way you can. I have seen people water walk the 300 meters in a pool swim in my area."
"My wife did an indoor tri a few months ago and I think 1/4 of the people walked the swim."
I recommended that the person do breaststroke.
www.beginnertriathlete.com/.../thread-view.asp
Parents
Former Member
ChrisM is one of the good swimers to post on beginnertriathlete.com. Most of the swim advice on that forum is horrifying. However, use of the term "competent " is entirely dependent in the forum.
My experience is that many triathletes(at least on forums) don't know squat about swimming but think they know more than Michael Phelps.
I just read a thread in a triathlon forum where a 45 year old mom who just started running last year plans to do THREE triathlons this summer. She has zero experience in swimming and zero experience in cycling. She is just learning to swim/cycle and said she hopes to manage to swim 50 meters soon(no, I'm not kidding).
I mentioned if it wouldn't be better to learn more swimming first and then do a triathlon or at least start with one and see how it goes and go from there but she insists she is very ambitious. All the other triathletes just said "Go for it". Well, summer is in 3 months. One reason the other triathletes don't consider swimming as important is because they argue that even if you swim *** stroke(the version with your head above the water) and really suck, you will make the time on the bike and while running so it's more important to cycle a lot.
Oh, at the end I told her she should just try her best and in the beginning she will probably not be very good but she'll see how the procedure goes and can work from there. Her answer was "I intend to be one of the first five of my age group"......hmm
ChrisM is one of the good swimers to post on beginnertriathlete.com. Most of the swim advice on that forum is horrifying. However, use of the term "competent " is entirely dependent in the forum.
My experience is that many triathletes(at least on forums) don't know squat about swimming but think they know more than Michael Phelps.
I just read a thread in a triathlon forum where a 45 year old mom who just started running last year plans to do THREE triathlons this summer. She has zero experience in swimming and zero experience in cycling. She is just learning to swim/cycle and said she hopes to manage to swim 50 meters soon(no, I'm not kidding).
I mentioned if it wouldn't be better to learn more swimming first and then do a triathlon or at least start with one and see how it goes and go from there but she insists she is very ambitious. All the other triathletes just said "Go for it". Well, summer is in 3 months. One reason the other triathletes don't consider swimming as important is because they argue that even if you swim *** stroke(the version with your head above the water) and really suck, you will make the time on the bike and while running so it's more important to cycle a lot.
Oh, at the end I told her she should just try her best and in the beginning she will probably not be very good but she'll see how the procedure goes and can work from there. Her answer was "I intend to be one of the first five of my age group"......hmm
