Things don\u2019t always go as planned. Competitions are often full of unpredicted moments, risks and unexpected episodes that disrupt the otherwise perfect competition that we\u2019d planned so perfectly.<\/p>\n
Usually one can manage to be tolerant (but not too much) with the variables like the rough water, the wobbly starting block or that pain that keeps bothering us during the swim, but it\u2019s harder to be tolerant towards the rough, unsportsmanlike, \u201ctricksters\u201d of the open waters.<\/p>\n
If you want to know how to avoid these irritating athletes you can read these 5 simple but essential tips!<\/p>\n
#1 Look around<\/strong><\/p>\n While in indoor races, where the swimmers are identified before start, in open water races it can happen that some swimmers will cheat and take a short cut, or some that will hide half way along the path before start only to join in on the race later on. So, keep your eyes open and tell the judges if someone is breaking the rules!<\/p>\n #2 Protect yourself from getting hit\u2026<\/strong><\/p>\n I\u2019ve swum some races where I\u2019ve been punched and kicked by those who didn\u2019t want to let me pass. In these situations you can react by pretending nothing happened, or decide to take revenge and throw a few punches yourself in order to surpass them. \u00a0In order to do well, there\u2019s no point in wasting energy by fighting these \u201cMike Tysons of swimming\u201d. Save your energy and let the fighters tire themselves out!<\/p>\n #3 \u2026and from the lies!<\/strong><\/p>\n There are those who will try to affect you psychologically by distracting you and making you believe that they\u2019re not well prepared for the race. How to avoid it? By remembering that your opponent is hardly going to reveal their winning strategy to you. Don\u2019t trust anyone who says \u201cI\u2019m tired. I don\u2019t think I\u2019ll do well today\u201d or \u201cI didn\u2019t train enough for this race\u201d because it\u2019s rarely a sincere revelation.<\/p>\n #4 Swim your own race<\/strong><\/p>\n Sometimes someone will ask you to follow them by starting off slow. Half way through the race you realize that they lied and instead started off really strongly and now suddenly you\u2019re out of energy and unable to keep up. By only swimming your own race, without trying to challenge anyone else is always the best way to go in order to reach the podium!<\/p>\n #5 Save some energy for the finish line<\/strong><\/p>\n The finish line is where all the \u201ctricksters\u201d will emerge. You know those who have been trailing behind you for the whole race and only to overtake you in the final sprint? Save some energy so that you can stay in the game!<\/p>\n We can\u2019t guarantee that you\u2019ll become a quicker swimmer or that these 5 tips will drastically improve your swimming experience\u2026and most of all, don\u2019t lose your cool when trying to win over the \u201ctricksters\u201d of the open waters.<\/p>\n Tell us the stories and tricks that you\u2019ve acquired in order to win over the \u201ctricksters\u201d that you\u2019ve encountered!<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Things don\u2019t always go as planned. Competitions are often full of unpredicted moments, risks and unexpected episodes that disrupt the otherwise perfect competition that we\u2019d planned so perfectly. Usually one …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1332,"featured_media":85943,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[12818],"tags":[],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n