09/06/2026
Your pool PB means nothing if you can’t sight, draft, or breathe in chop.
Open water swimming is a completely different skill set — and most triathletes ignore it until race week.
Here’s what actually moves the needle when the gun goes off and you’re surrounded by 500+ other athletes:
→ Sight efficiently without killing your stroke
→ Navigate by landmarks, not just buoys
→ Draft legally and save energy for the bike
→ Breathe with the water, not against it
→ Survive the start and swim your own race
→ Know your wetsuit before you race in it
→ Build OWS-specific sessions into your plan
Get comfortable in uncomfortable water.
Save this and start applying it in your next open water session. 💬 Drop your biggest open water challenge 👇