Long ago, in a distant land, I, the swim start, the shape shifting master of darkness unleashed an unspeakable fury. But, a foolish triathlete using a mythical technique stepped forth to oppose me. Before the final blow was struck, I tore open a portal in time throwing him into the future where my evil is law. Now the fool seeks to amend the past and undo the evil that is the swim start.

That was a little over dramatic, but not so far off for some athletes. The swim start is a chaotic rampage of flailing limbs. Some people swim with reckless abandon to get out of the frenzy, others hang back. No matter which way you approach it, everyone starts the swim, and most people find a way out. Not to say that there have not been broken noses bumps bruises etc. This is a part of the sport, however there is a way to avoid this, though it may be hard to swallow.

The best piece of advice is to know your ability. No one at the line swims as fast as Grant Hackett or Ben Sanson, unless you are Grant Hackett or Ben Sanson. Now that you have admitted you are not the fastest person in the water, evaluate where your ability is, and be honest. I know, you want to PR this race and do your best, and you totally lead your lane at masters that week when that faster guy was away on business. Do you really believe that getting beaten down the first 100 meters will help you PR? If you are not the best swimmer let the aqua-nuts go, you can easily find your way to T-1 in their wake, with less bruises of course. If you are a stronger swimmer, go to the front, you don’t want to trample the slower swimmers any more than they want to be trampled. Some egos might take a hit here, but isn’t that better than your face?

Some athletes may refer to a code in the swim start. When race day comes, there is no code, generally speaking. I can’t identify you, and you can’t identify me. You go to your race director and tell him/her, “I was kicked ‘sob’ by a ‘sob’ man in a ‘sniffle’ black wetsuit, and ‘sob’ and a swiiiiim caaaaaap”, (really, go for it, see what they say).

The golden rule is often mentioned in this discussion, and athletes will advocate following it. It is a great ideal, but we all need to accept that the swim start is chaos, and at some time or another we all get beaten down a bit. Line yourself up in the right place for your ability, and hope for the best. The rest just comes with the territory. Embrace the chaos and HTFU, after all, this is a competition and nice guys get the crap knocked out of them, regardless of where they finish.

Written by Chris Berg