Can you swim Breaststroke in a Triathlon?

Yes, breaststroke can be an option if it will help you finish the swim easier. But would it actually be better? As a swim coach, most often people ask me if they can swim breaststroke in a triathlon because they are uncomfortable or don’t know how to swim freestyle. So if you are asking the question about breaststroke because you are wondering whether or not it is worth it to learn to swim freestyle - the answer is - it’s absolutely worth it to learn freestyle. Breaststroke can be done in an open water swimming race if a person chooses to do so. For some swimmers, it is their easiest and comfortable stroke. The question behind the question may be - even though you can swim breaststroke in a triathlon - would you really want to?

The Pros And The Cons

Professional and Amateur (even beginning) triathletes choose and learn to swim freestyle (over breaststroke) because of a multitude of benefits, some of which being that freestyle is 1) much faster 2) conserves energy 3) easier to breathe to the side during a race and with waves.

Recently, I watched from the shore as a swim spotter for a full Iron man (2.4 mile swim) where swimmers struggled, cramped, and nearly drowned before even making it to the 1 mile marker in the swim. No doubt they were well-intentioned when they set out to finish their race for the day - but they spent hundreds of dollars on their wet-suit, nearly a thousand dollars on the race entry, and too many did not even make it to their multi thousand dollar bicycle waiting for them at the shore because they got a DNF. That is, with all the energy of the start of the race and a few hundred meters into the race they were too exhausted to finish (Did Not Finish).

But Would You Really Want To Swim Breaststroke?

Breaststroke is a more comfortable stroke for me to swim too. But for the purposes of ease, speed, and conserving energy for the next two legs of the race (the bike and the run), it’s definitely worth it to learn freestyle. Breaststroke is much slower than front crawl, it also takes more energy for your body to do since (in breaststroke) there is more resistance when compared with freestyle.

One important thing to consider when swimming open water breaststroke, swimmers breathe forward as opposed to the side. This means that if there are waves from the environment it may be more difficult to breathe. As well, if there are other swimmers who are kicking in front of you, there may be no protection between your head and their legs.

Investing in learning freestyle over a series of weeks is something your body will not forget. It will be a skill you can take with you, not only at race time, but also swimming in the ocean, or even in a backyard pool or lap pool.

Straight From The Rule book Itself

If you are interested in the pure technical rules, (per convenience) below are the actual rules from the triathlon rule books. It may be a little technical in language, but the essence of the rules is that any stroke is allowed so long as a person is unassisted by anything other than themselves giving forward progress in the water.

"In Triathlon - at any USAT or Ironman sanctioned events, as long as forward progress is being made without assistance (section 4.01h) then a swimmer can choose whatever stroke they would like. (USAT 4.1) Swimmers may use any stroke to propel themselves through the water and may tread water or float. (USAT 4.2) A participant may stand on the bottom or rest by holding an inanimate object such as a buoy, boat, rope or floating object. Excluding the bottom, a participant shall not use any inanimate object to gain forward progress. A violation of this section shall result in a variable time penalty, unless the Head Referee in his/her sole discretion determines that (i) the violation was substantial and resulted in an unfair time advantage, or (ii) the violation constituted endangerment under Section 3.4(1)."

Being Prepared

If you are asking this question, perhaps you are thinking of doing your first triathlon. Or perhaps you’ve already signed up and had that, “Oh, man what was I thinking” moment (of which we’ve all had - even the pro’s). No doubt you want to be as prepared as you can be. That’s where we come in. We offer personal coaching to meet your needs whether you eventually decide you want to swim whichever stroke you choose for your race, even breaststroke, if in the end that’s really what you are most comfortable with. We’ll work with you to help you develop as a swimmer - which will give you more confidence and certainty that you can achieve your best.

Need assistance from a professional swimming instructor? Hire a Sunsational Swim Instructor to come to your home or community pool today and just keep swimming!

Michael Swain’s bio:

Swim Instructor in Phoenix, AZ

Hi, I'm Michael, I have 12 years experience coaching and teaching swim lessons for children & adults of all abilities and levels - from beginners all the way to professional athletes who have competed at the FINA World Championships. I began coaching in 2006 for Club Wolverine, a USA Swimming Silver Medal Club. Currently, I also coach for Pitchfork Aquatics. I have a Bachelor of Science in Psychology, swam in college Division 1, qualified and competed at the 2012 Olympic Trials.