Triathlon for rubbish swimmer

[PhoebeMcPeePee]

I'm really enjoying cycling (training for 100km next spring) and can hold my own on a shortish run and would love to do a triathlon next summer but am a seriously bad swimmer
Is swimming for a triathlon something that can be learned & with training manage ok or should I be looking for a duathlon & give up triathlon dreams?
As an aside, how much time commitment is needed for a sprint triathlon? I'm cycling 2-3 times a week plus doing either a run or cardio class at the moment and not sure how much more I can fit in.

Of course the swimming can be learned!
I'm presuming its open water which is quite different from pool swimming anyhow.

Yes open water but even a couple of lengths breaststroke fills me with dread atm . Would some sort of adults improver class be a good start or would I need 1:2:1 for technique etc.

You could do either, obviously 1:2:1 being preferable.Its best to iron out technique asap.
What you'll really need also is to commit yourself to a schedule to build strength and stamina -which you know, as an athlete, will come, but at a price!

I'd do a shirt course/few classes if you could

I'm looking at attempting a triathlon next year too. Watched one recently and it looked ok

Plus I would see if there's an open water swimming group near you.

Get some 1:1 lessons, pref with a triathlon/endurance/ efficient swimming coach, and you'll be amazed at the difference it makes. Last September I couldn't do any freestyle at all - 4 hour long sessions put me in a place I could just work up my distance. I did a sprint, 400m pool based tri in June, and an open water 750m swim tri in late August.

I'd def start with a pool based tri as the open water is very different

I could barely swim a length of front crawl last year. In late October I did a one-day front crawl workshop with Steven Shaw www.artofswimming.com . By the end of the workshop I could swim front crawl; by the end of the week I could swim 1,000m of front crawl at a time. I did two Olympic and two sprint triathlons this summer.

Technique is key to swimming. If someone shows you the right technique it makes sooooo much difference. My only regret is wasting 37 years as a useless swimmer before I learnt properly.

That sounds amazing pootle & exactly what I need THANK YOU

A lot of Tri clubs do swim training sessions.