Will You Die During a Triathlon Swim?

Short answer: no.

Long answer: if you're going to die during a triathlon, yeah, it will probably be during the swim.

Why? Well, that isn't really known at this time.

In 2011, 12 athletes died during USAT triathlon events, and 9 of those deaths occurred in the swim leg. Of course, there were nearly 500,000 total athletes participating in those events, so the total chance of such a thing happening is pretty low.

Here's a quick look at the numbers, and lack of conclusive evidence on the blame end, from Inside Triathlon.

Here's Scientific American's look at the subject.

And the Washington Post takes a cut at figuring it out as well.

And finally, Slowtwitch looks at the problem.

In my own, completely uninformed, opinion, too many triathletes blow off proper swim training, usually because it's the least favorite leg for most racers. I think if more people took their swim preparation as seriously as they do the prep for the bike and run, there would be significantly fewer deaths during the swim.

Swim on, mighty Triheads!