Did anyone experience breathlessness in" Open Water Swimming!!"?

take your inhaler before hand. one thing about swimming in open water that is extremely cold, is that your muscles tense up when you enter the water and it constricts your breathing..also, its very difficult to warm up which can affect your performance..and also obviously the cold can put your health at risk. i would suggest making sure you warm up significantly before you start the swim. do some active stretching, jog for 10 mins, stretch. then, proceed to your warm up in the water...go in the water, swim around for a few mins then get out..then once your body warms up again, go back in the water for a little longer than before..do this a few times total til your comfortable in the water and your muscles are warmed up. that should help with the shock of the cold water. another thing you can do to get used to the cold water is to do some more training in it. not everyone's body can handle the cold, and we all react a little differently..you just have to figure out how to become more comfortable and relaxed in the cold. good luck!