23 Rules For Strong Open Water Swimming

Scared of the swim? Thought so. Well fear not. We asked the best open-water athletes in the world how to conquer the waves

- Helen Webster

1 FACE THE FEAR

Never been in open water before? Then start small, says Olympic 10km swim bronze medallist Cassie Patten

Don’t ever feel pressured the first time you try an openwater swim. Look on Facebook and see if there’s an openwater swimming group or a lake you can go to and just take your time. What you don’t want to do is associate open water with panic, because if you make those associations at a cognitive level then they will always be there.

Don’t feel pressured to rush in the first time – just take it slow. Tell yourself it doesn’t matter if you don’t swim – all you’re going to do is put your face in and blow bubbles. So long as you feel positive and relaxed about that first experience it’s going to make such a difference.

Never do your first openwater swim in a race, as you’ll have those race day nerves and that adrenaline, all that stress... and going into an alien environment already feeling like that isn’t the best idea!

2 DON’T SWIM ONE PACE

Triathlete visits lake. Triathlete swims big loop round lake. Triathlete doesn’t get faster... Sound like you? It’s time to mix it up, says seven-time world champ and swim coach Richard ‘the fish’ Stannard