{"id":17749,"date":"2022-10-04T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2022-10-03T22:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/220triathlon\/?post_type=purple_issue&p=17749"},"modified":"2022-10-06T13:25:49","modified_gmt":"2022-10-06T11:25:49","slug":"weekend-warrior-dirty-tricks","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/220triathlon\/2022\/10\/04\/weekend-warrior-dirty-tricks\/","title":{"rendered":"Weekend warrior: Dirty tricks"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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DIRTY TRICKS<\/h2>\n\n

Brunty ponders how best to deal with triathletes who deliberately dunk, push and swim over other competitors<\/strong><\/em>…<\/p>\n\n

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Recently I was chatting to an elite triathlete<\/strong> \u2013 and for once they weren\u2019t smiling politely while moving away while I droned on to them about my race results. No, on this occasion they were seeking my wisdom, which initially made me worried they might be in the grip of malarial fever, but it turned out they were genuinely curious to know if something that was an issue for them was also an issue for those of us at the back of the field \u2013 abackhanded compliment if ever there was one. weekend warrior <\/p>\n\n

The elite in question, who shall remain nameless (mostly because they haven\u2019t been baptised), explained to me that in a recent race they were deliberately dunked, pushed back and then swum over by another athlete early in the swim. This knocked them out of contention because the extra effort required to chase back to the pack meant they didn\u2019t have anything left in the latter stages of the run.<\/span><\/p>\n\n

\u201cI have a wide arm stroke that naturally deters any would-be saboteurs\u201d <\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n

I was surprised to hear this goes on in elite racing \u2013 not that I\u2019m na\u00efve enough to think pros are above such dirty doings but because I thought they\u2019d refrain in case they\u2019re penalised by the kayak refs. Not so, it seems. If underwater chicanery is detected at all, it often only results in a 10sec penalty, which seems a poor punishment. [Ed <\/em>\u2013 <\/em>Alistair <\/em>Brownlee <\/em>was <\/em>DSQ\u2019d <\/em>for <\/em>dunking <\/em>another <\/em>pro <\/em>at <\/em>the<\/em> 2021 Leeds WTCS race.]<\/span><\/p>\n\n

In more than 20 years of triathlons and open-water swimming races, I\u2019ve never felt anything that happened to me was deliberate. Don\u2019t get me wrong, I\u2019ve been swum into, swum over, clumped around the head, booted in the face, chest and nuts, had my goggles knocked off and even had my hat knocked off. But none of them were on purpose \u2013 it was just the rough and tumble of several hundred people vying for the same three metres of water. <\/p>\n\n

I don\u2019t know whether my experience is common, but generally among the also-rans none of us are trying to deliberately nobble each other. Frankly, what would be the point? All we\u2019ll do is go from 250th place to 249th \u2013 and, if anything, there\u2019s a feeling of camaraderie that it\u2019s us and our terrible techniques versus the waves. <\/p>\n\n

I must confess, I have some advantages that keep me out of trouble in mass swims. I\u2019m a slow starter, which means that I can\u2019t keep up with the piranha pack at the front where the mel\u00e9e is at its fiercest. And by the time I get up to ramming speed the field has strung out, enabling me to look faster than I am as I showboat past exhausted stragglers. I\u2019m also confident in the water, which means that blows to the head, or the loss of goggles or teeth, don\u2019t trouble me unduly. Lastly, I have a very wide arm stroke, which naturally deters any would-be saboteurs. (At my swimming club, my freestyle stroke is affectionately described as \u2018The Claw\u2019.) <\/p>\n\n

Alas, I don\u2019t think my experiences were much help to my new elite chum, nor was my advice of, \u2018Next time you see the athlete who did it, belt them across the shins with a track pump.\u2019 Hearing about this and other watery nobblings has got my swimmer\u2019s chip standing up straight on my bony shoulder, though. <\/p>\n\n

Strong swimmers already get the rough end of the triathlon stick \u2013 the bit we\u2019re good at is the shortest in both distance and time, and everyone gets to wear a massive buoyancy aid, which neutralises our advantage \u2013 so hearing that there are few consequences for subaquatic foul play has given me something else to sulk about. <\/p>\n\n

After all, if I elbowed someone off their bike or legged them up on the run I\u2019d expect to be disqualified, so trying to drown someone should definitely be punished more severely. My suggestion is that any elite athlete found guilty of a frontcrawl crime should be made to spend a day listening to me give a blow-byblow account of all my races since 2001. That\u2019ll teach \u2019em. <\/p>\n\n

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MARTYN<\/strong> BRUNT<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

Martyn is tri\u2019s foremost average athlete and is living proof that hours of training and endless new kit are no substitute for ability. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n

MAIN IMAGE: DANIEL SEEX<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

DIRTY TRICKS Brunty ponders how best to deal with triathletes who deliberately dunk, push and swim over other competitors… Recently I was chatting to an elite triathlete \u2013 and for once they weren\u2019t smiling politely while moving away while I droned on to them about my race results. No, on this occasion they were seeking […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":24,"featured_media":18185,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ub_ctt_via":"","purple_page_number":"98","purple_custom_meta_purple_page_number":"98","purple_seq_number":"1","purple_custom_meta_purple_seq_number":"1","purple_source_article":"article_98-1.xml","purple_custom_meta_purple_source_article":"article_98-1.xml","purple_source_issue":"November-2022","purple_custom_meta_purple_source_issue":"November-2022","purple_external_id":"November-2022-98-1","purple_custom_meta_purple_external_id":"November-2022-98-1","purple_issue_code":"|0000083695||","purple_custom_meta_purple_issue_code":"|0000083695||","purple_android_product":"com.im.220mag.409","purple_custom_meta_purple_android_product":"com.im.220mag.409","purple_ios_product":"com.im.220mag.409","purple_custom_meta_purple_ios_product":"com.im.220mag.409","purple_web_product":"","purple_custom_meta_purple_web_product":"","purple_publication_id":"69718c89-6ce1-4a00-8e50-78dba8209b85","purple_migrated":"","kt_blocks_editor_width":"","apple_news_api_created_at":"2022-10-06T10:23:36Z","apple_news_article-theme":"","apple_news_api_id":"34e44808-6519-4a7a-800b-afe82a418bbe","apple_news_api_modified_at":"2022-10-06T11:25:55Z","apple_news_api_revision":"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAg==","apple_news_api_share_url":"https:\/\/apple.news\/ANORICGUZSnqAC6_oKkGLvg","apple_news_coverimage":0,"apple_news_coverimage_caption":"","apple_news_is_hidden":false,"apple_news_is_paid":true,"apple_news_is_preview":true,"apple_news_is_sponsored":false,"apple_news_maturity_rating":"","apple_news_pullquote":"","apple_news_pullquote_position":"","apple_news_article_theme":"","apple_news_sections":"[]"},"categories":[16],"tags":[63],"apple_news_notices":[],"featured_image_src":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/47\/2022\/10\/Digi_0017_92_Brunt.png","author_info":{"display_name":"importmanagerhub@sprylab.com","author_link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/220triathlon\/author\/importmanagerhubsprylab-com\/"},"acf":{"readingTimeMinutes":"4","apple_news_title":""},"uagb_featured_image_src":{"full":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/47\/2022\/10\/Digi_0017_92_Brunt.png",500,500,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/47\/2022\/10\/Digi_0017_92_Brunt-150x150.png",150,150,true],"medium":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/47\/2022\/10\/Digi_0017_92_Brunt-300x300.png",300,300,true],"medium_large":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/47\/2022\/10\/Digi_0017_92_Brunt.png",500,500,false],"large":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/47\/2022\/10\/Digi_0017_92_Brunt.png",500,500,false],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/47\/2022\/10\/Digi_0017_92_Brunt.png",500,500,false],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/47\/2022\/10\/Digi_0017_92_Brunt.png",500,500,false]},"uagb_author_info":{"display_name":"importmanagerhub@sprylab.com","author_link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/220triathlon\/author\/importmanagerhubsprylab-com\/"},"uagb_comment_info":0,"uagb_excerpt":"DIRTY TRICKS Brunty ponders how best to deal with triathletes who deliberately dunk, push and swim over other competitors… Recently I was chatting to an elite triathlete \u2013 and for once they weren\u2019t smiling politely while moving away while I droned on to them about my race results. 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