Originally Posted by
Rhodabike
I'd guess that shorter distance races are more likely to attract beginners doing their first race ever. Some people are very unprepared for the swim portion and get bad advice ("You don't have to know how to swim well - your wetsuit will let you float through the swim leg!").
That does seem like the common sense interpretation, but every single case I've known of was the exact opposite - highly seasoned, highly experienced, highly accomplished competitors. Just this year in Indy, we had a very accomplished swimmer die during an OWS event.