Can I Swim Breaststroke In A Triathlon?
Your triathlon race is coming up soon, and you’re psyched because you want to win the swim portion.
Whereas your best stroke is the breaststroke, so you start practising it in the pool. But a serious question comes to mind: Can you swim breaststroke in a triathlon?
The answer is yes, and here’s why.
Of course, breaststroke is a slow stroke and not ideal for racing. However, it has several advantages:
- it is non-competitive
- it doesn’t require much strength or endurance
- it doesn’t wear out your shoulders as much as freestyle does,
- and most importantly, you can use the stroke over a long distance without tiring out.
You can see where you are going and breathe at the same time while swimming breaststroke. For many swimmers, it is the most effortless stroke to learn and the most relaxing.
[et_bloom_inline optin_id=”optin_1″]
But comparing breaststroke to the other two strokes, freestyle, and butterfly, for racing, can be a little complicated.
The rule of thumb for distance swimming is that the longer the race, the slower your stroke should be.
It means that breaststroke is the best choice for long-distance swimming, such as the IronMan, where you have to swim 2.4 miles in 26-28 degree water.
However, the short sprint race of a triathlon or duathlon would not allow you to use breaststroke because it just would not be fast enough.
The freestyle stroke is much better because it is faster and more efficient. This stroke is more complicated to learn than breaststroke, but once you master it, it will be easy for you to swim faster.
But the breaststroke is perfect for novice athletes and people who have a hard time with freestyle.
Breaststroke is the best stroke to use in an IronMan because it is low-impact and easy on your body.
For example, if you have shoulder problems, it will help tone your arms and shoulders and keep them in good condition for longer.
The breaststroke style is also perfect for triathletes planning on tackling an IronMan one day because you can use it to swim the length of the race.
In addition, endurance breaststroke will help you train for long-distance events such as Olympic distance, sprint, and standard.
Now that you know that breaststroke is a great triathlon choice, take a deep breath, get out there, and see how you do with this stroke!
