I'm a crappy swimmer, but I had a PR in the swim leg of my local sprint tri this summer. Last year I had what might have been a mini-panic attack. I couldn't catch my breath, I couldn't get into a rhythm, I was scared the whole time. I think the following helped me.

1. Try to simulate the contact. I played a game with my kid that involved a lot of contact. We would dive for a swim toy and then fight each other to see who would get it first. We tugged on each other's legs, dunked heads, etc. I think it made me more comfortable with contact in the water.

2. Practice open water swimming.

3. Try to recreate the panic feeling and deal with it. I (inadvertently) did this in the pool. I wanted to swim, but didn't have much time, so I decided to try a short but fast swim. I started, but I felt disjointed, disoriented, and out of breath. I started repeating a mantra to myself: strength. patience. courage. It settled me down.

4. At the start of the race, line up at the back. Don't fight the better swimmers.

During my race, I kept repeating the mantra. Except that I was nervous, so I forgot what I was supposed to be saying and settled on: strength. courage. This changed by the end of the race into : one. two. three.

Good luck!