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
The last time I checked the sport is SWIM, BIKE, RUN
"A triathlon is a multi-sport event involving the completion of three continuous and sequential endurance events. While many variations of the sport exist, triathlon, in its most popular form, involves swimming, cycling, and running in immediate succession over various distances." - Wiki
If you walk the swim, walk the bike and walk the run, then it is a walk, not a multisport event.
If you were to walk, say, half a mile, during the marathon portion of an Ironman event, does that mean you did not complete it?
The last time I checked the sport is SWIM, BIKE, RUN
"A triathlon is a multi-sport event involving the completion of three continuous and sequential endurance events. While many variations of the sport exist, triathlon, in its most popular form, involves swimming, cycling, and running in immediate succession over various distances." - Wiki
If you walk the swim, walk the bike and walk the run, then it is a walk, not a multisport event.
If you were to walk, say, half a mile, during the marathon portion of an Ironman event, does that mean you did not complete it?
