Q. When Alistair Brownlee's goggles were knocked off at the ITU event in Hyde Park last year he finished the swim without them. Is it worth training without goggles to prepare for this eventuality?A. The simple answer is 'be prepared', whatever your

improvement. It can, for example, take 20,000 repetitions of a movement before it feels natural and instinctive. Don't be disheartened if your progress seems to be slow - stick with it and keep repeating the drills. Practice doesn't make perfect, it makes

other words, pit stops for your arms) occupy about a quarter of the time and distance. In open water, a mile will take at least 10 per cent more time to swim (because push-offs boost your speed) and there are no pit stops.Meeting these challenges demands

There were 43 world records set at this year's controversial World Swimming Championships in Rome. One of them came courtesy of Australian Christian Sprenger, who swam the men's 200m breaststroke semi-final in a staggering 2:07.31. Swift it may have

There were 43 world records set at this year's controversial World Swimming Championships in Rome. One of them came courtesy of Australian Christian Sprenger, who swam the men's 200m breaststroke semi-final in a staggering 2:07.31.Swift it may have

will have built up your swimming fitness in the pool and you should now be working to overcome the technical and mental challenges of open-water swimming.Specialist swim skillsBill Black coached the GB men's triathlon team at the Sydney Olympics in 2000