Doug Wells / AP
Competitors dive into the water at the start of the men's elite race at the Hy-Vee Triathlon on Sunday, June 13, 2010, in West Des Moines, Iowa.
Jenna Parker is a 25-year-old professional triathlete who estimates that she's competed in 100 triathlons since 2003. She swam competitively in college for three years at Harvard University.
And yet, even she admits that the swimming portion of the intense, three-part race can be scary enough to send a pro into panic mode.
"The swims are actually ridiculously vicious," Parker says. "There have been times when I’ve been dunked under, I’m literally seeing people swimming above me, then I get dunked under again -- it really can be terrifying."
The scariness of the swimming leg of the increasingly popular race is top of mind for many aspiring triathletes, after this past weekend's Ironman U.S. Championship in New York City and New Jersey, where a 43-year-old man died after experiencing a medical problem during the 2.4-mile swim in the Hudson River. (The cause of death has not yet been determined.)
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