The short answer is “no,” but there’s no time like the present to learn!
If you are a true beginner, you need a couple of months to get up to par to complete a sprint or short-distance triathlon. Your goals should be: maximizing your time in the water, finding a good swim coach or instructor, and practicing drills as often as possible. Make swimming your priority, above all other training. And have patience!
If you want to do a triathlon, but don’t know how to swim, here a a few steps to get started:
1. Find a qualified instructor. There are several listed on my find a coach page. You can also check with your local master swim team, which often has a coach who will give lessons.
2. Find a place to practice. A facility that has a monthly lap swimming plan would work perfectly. Search for 25 yard, 25 meter, or 50 meter pools.
3. Watch swimming videos (Essential Triathlon Swimming DVD is an example) to figure out what you should be doing, and to see what proper swimming looks like.
4. Practice drills as often as you can. Once you’ve gotten your stroke down pretty well, you can add more yardage to your sessions.
5. Don’t put too much pressure on yourself for your first race. Look on it as a learning experience, and see where you need improvement. If you put too much pressure on your first race, you’re less likely to have fun and enter more races.