Hey, thought my latest ride might be of interest, 4485m unicycle/swim/run/unicycle done all in a row. In pissing down rain, and with strong currents.
In regular triathlons, you can rest on the top of the lake with the amount of extra buoyancy those wetsuits give them. And to be honest if you’re an okay swimmer, you shouldn’t be in danger, even when tired you should be okay to do slow breaststroke home. Although I have to admit, I saw a sea triathlon recently, and some of the people in that shouldn’t have entered - they obviously had never swum in waves, and weren’t getting anywhere, they couldn’t even finish a 750m swim, which is pretty short. I guess I’m probably a bit more of a water baby than a lot of people.
I think assuming we’re talking about short unicycle specific events (with like 400-800m swims as a maximum say), you’re never going to be too far from the side at any point, so what point the swim comes in the ride is really a matter of convenience when setting out the course, and convenience in terms of transitions / need to change clothing.
Joe