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The date of my first triathlon arrived a bit before my ability to perform freestyle stroke for any significant distance—dang side-breathing. Beforehand, quite a few Google searches ensued such as “can I wear a snorkel in a triathlon?” and “can I swim backstroke in a triathlon?”. After scouring through lots of forum posts, I was able to find my answers. To answer the first question, most triathlons allow the use of a snorkel (check the rules of your event), but you may get laughed at. For the second, that’s the topic of today’s post. I’ll break down each common swim stroke and whether it can and/or should be used:

Freestyle

Yes and use this if you are able. It’s the go-to stroke for triathlon. It’s the fastest and most efficient, end of story. Keep at it until you are able to complete your races using it. In the meantime…

Backstroke

Yes, you can use backstroke (and elementary backstroke), but there are several things to keep in mind. With this and any other stroke besides freestyle, for that matter, be sure to stay to the back and side of your wave to avoid (more than the usual number of) collisions with other swimmers. Also, in a pool, generally you can look at patterns on the ceiling to stay in a straight line. Out in the open water, it’s a little more difficult. You may end up getting turned around and have to be nudged in the right direction by the safety kayakers. You can use this for an occasional break in a longer swim.

Breaststroke

Yes, breaststroke is also fine. However, you will want to make sure that you have plenty of room around you to avoid kicking your fellow triathletes in the head (they will appreciate that). Even if you are proficient at freestyle, you may want to use breaststroke to navigate around the buoys when making a turn as this stroke provides the most visibility to your surroundings.

Butterfly

No, this is not allowed. Well, technically, it probably isn’t against the rules, but come on. If you are able to swim butterfly I doubt that freestyle presents a challenge, so just do that for crying out loud! By all means, train using butterfly as it can work different muscles and help build your endurance, just don’t break it out on race day.

Sidestroke

Yes, a restful sidestroke is allowed. Just plan on being one of the last people out of the water.

Dog Paddle (or any of its close cousins)

Yes, also allowed. That was my go-to stroke for finishing my first triathlon as I found myself getting turned around too much with backstroke and hadn’t gotten my breastwork down yet either. Just be prepared to let each safety kayakers you pass know that you are okay and not drowning. They are likely to ask.

Equipped with this information, you are now ready to get out in the water for your first triathlon, even if you aren’t quite yet freestyling like Katie Ledecky. Just don’t stop working at it.

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