3 articles
In the pool a wetsuit makes you about 6% faster on average, but strong swimmers may gain nothing at all, while triathletes with sinking legs gain up to 19 seconds per 400 m. We go through the research and explain why the gain seems to “disappear” in open water.
The culprit is not chlorine but what chlorine turns into when it meets sweat and urine. 74% of swimmers have rhinitis symptoms against 40% in controls — and two weeks out of the pool clear them. Meanwhile the most popular “treatment” only makes things worse.
A day before the start the organisers removed the swim leg: the concentration of cyanobacteria in the lake turned out to be significantly above the threshold recommended by the UK health agency. The race became a duathlon. Here is what blooms, why it is dangerous and how to assess the water yourself.