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Calf guard regulation in triathlon
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Hello everyone!

I'm looking for a new swimsuit, my old one definitely needs to be replaced. As I am thinking of doing some swimruns, I'm thinking of buying one wetsuit only to do swimruns and triathlons.

The problem is, most swimrun wetsuits stop above the knee, so that would mean that in triathlons and Ironman races for example, I would lose some buoyancy because forbidden to use a pull buoy.


So my question is: would I be allowed in triathlons and Ironman races to add a calf buoyancy support, like a calf guard?


I've searched a bit and the ITU Competition Rules don't say much.
Ironman rules say: "Wetsuit (neoprene) shorts/bottoms are prohibited (DSQ);" which is not exactly that.

Any help is welcome, thanks :)
Last edited by: leodavesne: Dec 9, 20 7:21
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Re: Calf guard regulation in triathlon [leodavesne] [ In reply to ]
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wouldn't you lose more time taking the calf guards off in T1, than you might gain from the extra bit of buoyancy during the swim ?

run well, run happy
george
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Re: Calf guard regulation in triathlon [georgereid] [ In reply to ]
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Could be!

I guess it would depend on the race. For a short swim, I won't put them, for a long one, I would like to have the option to put them :)
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Re: Calf guard regulation in triathlon [leodavesne] [ In reply to ]
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Have you ever worn a swimrun suit before? They are awfully hard to remove yourself for most people. I would not recommend one for tri.

You can wear the neoprene shorts in place of a wetsuit, but I don't think you can wear floaty shin pads. They might violate the 5mm thickness for many of the models out there, or be considered 'booties' which can't be worn unless the water is below 65F.

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Re: Calf guard regulation in triathlon [Optimal_Adrian] [ In reply to ]
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Good point! Never worn a swimrun wetsuit before.

Now I realise I could use my old wetsuit for swimrun, by removing the parts just from above the knee, hum!
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Re: Calf guard regulation in triathlon [leodavesne] [ In reply to ]
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leodavesne wrote:
Good point! Never worn a swimrun wetsuit before.

Now I realise I could use my old wetsuit for swimrun, by removing the parts just from above the knee, hum!

Are you thinking about running in a wetsuit? Or just looking for something to remove fast after the swim?
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Re: Calf guard regulation in triathlon [leodavesne] [ In reply to ]
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leodavesne wrote:
Good point! Never worn a swimrun wetsuit before.

Now I realise I could use my old wetsuit for swimrun, by removing the parts just from above the knee, hum!
What you're missing here is SR wetsuits have zippers on the front, making removal difficult, usually requiring another to help you. Having the zipper in the front allows you to zip down during the runs to relieve the pressure off your chest to breathe easier. Some of the run segments can be quite long - 8 miles or more. They're also reinforced, or have different materials, in areas that are subject to more wear and tear from the running. A normal wetsuit might fail rather quickly when put through the rigors of a SwimRun race. I don't think they're nearly as quick in the water as a regular, triathlon style wetsuit.

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Re: Calf guard regulation in triathlon [leodavesne] [ In reply to ]
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Calf guards are fine for wetsuit-legal swims as long as they are not more than 5mm thick.

Basically, there is a 5mm wetsuit thickness rule but your "wetsuit" could have full legs and arms or be knee-length/sleeveless with separate arm and leg covers.

From the IM rules:

(c) A wetsuit may cover any part of the body except the face, hands, or feet;

(e) The thickness of the wetsuit may not exceed 5mm. If the wetsuit consists of two or more pieces then the combined thickness of the overlapping pieces may not exceed 5 mm; (DSQ)

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Re: Calf guard regulation in triathlon [leodavesne] [ In reply to ]
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The swim run calf guards are more than 5mm so you can't wear them.

If you race outside the US you can't wear a wetsuit bottom on its own.

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Re: Calf guard regulation in triathlon [HalfSpeed] [ In reply to ]
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HalfSpeed wrote:
leodavesne wrote:
Good point! Never worn a swimrun wetsuit before.
Now I realise I could use my old wetsuit for swimrun, by removing the parts just from above the knee, hum!

What you're missing here is SR wetsuits have zippers on the front, making removal difficult, usually requiring another to help you. Having the zipper in the front allows you to zip down during the runs to relieve the pressure off your chest to breathe easier. Some of the run segments can be quite long - 8 miles or more. They're also reinforced, or have different materials, in areas that are subject to more wear and tear from the running. A normal wetsuit might fail rather quickly when put through the rigors of a SwimRun race. I don't think they're nearly as quick in the water as a regular, triathlon style wetsuit.

Thanks for the advice!

My intent was not clearly stated: I would use my old wetsuit only for a short swimrun, to test the concept. If I do it seriously I will most likely buy a dedicated swimrun wetsuit.


Thanks everyone for all your advices, they helped a lot :)
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