When looking at triathlon performance, swimming is often relegated in importance to an afterthought, in training energy, time dedicated and its value in the overall race. Much of this stems from the small percentage of total time spent swimming (as compared to biking and running) in an event, but it is also due to the frustration many triathletes feel with what is, for the majority, the weakest of the three disciplines.

Quickly, swimming becomes a lost hope, and justified as something simply to get through before getting on with real racing. Despite the distaste that many triathletes have for the water, if athletes are given solid direction on how to improve their open-water swimming, and thus develop an understanding of how it correlates to overall performance, swimming suddenly becomes fun. Gerry Rodrigues, founder of Tower 26 Swimming, is doing just that: making swimming fun. In the process, he's making triathletes faster than they ever thought possible in the water.