Worrying......

[Byron]

"60% of triathletes are terrible swimmers":
http://scaq.blogspot.co.uk/2009/08/triathletes-should-be-certified-by-usms.html

[SwimTeamSpeedo]

Directionally, the statement is accurate, but a bit of hyperbole. I am not sure I'd say terrible. As a triahtlete I write this from experience. Hundreds of races under my Speedo! A few things to consider.

First, most trithletes come to the sport from running backgrounds, not swimming. Easily 2/3 of triathletes were runners first. As a competitive sport, running is the worlds largest (yes, swimming is most popular, but most of that is recreational, not many recreational swimmers actually ever race)

Second, just as most competitive swimmers are not strong runners, most runners are not strong swimmers. The advantage runners do have is endurance. They may have poor stroke skills, but they can go forever. Go to the local pool at open swim. The swimmers are doing bolting fast intervals, maybe 200 meters and rarely over 400 meters. The runner now triathlete is in the next lane in a workout that makes the energizer bunny look weak. He/she just keeps going and going and going.

Third, and i know this first hand. The triathlon is won on the run. A really good swimmer exits the water with maybe a 7-8 minute advantage over the "average swimming" runner on an Olympic distance race. Depending on skill some of that will be eroded on the bike (maybe). But on the run, a really strong runner will eat up that gap over the 10k run.

Finally, I have only once ever seen a swimmer have to be rescued in a race.

By the way, I am the among the last of the swim brief wearing triathletes. In many races now, I am the only one. I am not sure of the advantage of the tri suits, but I like my tried and trus Speedo suits, all the way through the race! And the "Speedo" butt looks cool, too...lol

[Torchwatch]

Runners train on roads, cross country and round tracks, whatever the weather and day or night.
Road cycling training takes place on the roads, in most weather and mainly in daylight.
Swimming training takes place in swimming pools. on club night if you are a club member or in public pool lane swimming session, dodging the grannies in the fast lane if you are not a club member. There is a big difference between swimming in an indoor pool and swimming in the sea or across a lake. Outside the water is colder and darker, it tastes and smells different, the waves are bigger and unpredictable.
The runner or cyclist swim training alone for a triathlon will not have a chance to perfect his stroke style but will instead strengthen his poor style. He knows that he cannot compete with proper swimmers on the swim section and so needs a steady swim to get into the cycle section in a good condition. For that reason he will train for distance.
The cyclist or runner who has trained indoors for a triathlon may be daunted when finally he faces the ocean. He may not be prepared for the pile ups that occur as swimmers cut across each other at the buoy turns.
The mind set of a cyclist or distance runner is to keep going if at all possible, if something goes wrong in the water he will struggle on and into danger. He is liable to be on the edge of drowning before he thinks of giving up and asking for help. Instead of swimming ashore or to a rescue boat and climbing aboard, the rescuers will have to pull him out of the water coughing and spluttering and recorded as a rescue.
I have done the London to Brighton Cycle Ride on 3 occasions, on each of the last 2 rides someone ahead had a heart attack and died, so blocking the route. In the London Marathon last Sunday a young woman had a heart attack and died. A young professorial footballer (soccer) collapsed with a heart attack at a match last month. Bad things do happen in mass participation sports events, the swim section of a triathlon needs lifeguards while the cycle and run sections need marshals and first aiders. No one plans to get into difficulty but it happens.
A few years ago i went to a martial arts for the disabled event, i greeted the organiser and went off to get changed, when I came back i discovered that he had died of a heart attack, I may have been the last person to have spoken to him. He hadn't seemed strange. It is sad it happened but it is better to participate fully in the things you love than to sit at home feeling bored.

[Byron]

Yes, cardiac fatalities in football (soccer) players are more common than often realised and already several in Italy and Spain this year.

The one in UK mentioned by Torchwatch is Fabrice Muamba from Bolton Wanderers FC who collapsed at a game in London last month.
He has become something of a miracle as he was technically dead for 78 minutes and after 15 defibrillator shocks were administered on the pitch.
A cardiologist assisted (who was luckily a spectator of the match in the stand at the time) and he has since recovered in a specialist hospital.
He remains under close observation for neurological damage but the actual
cause is still a mystery to his doctors.