Freestyle vs. Breast Stroke (Page 3)

USAT Rules are somewhat contradictory:

Unfair Advantage. No participant shall use his body, head, arms, or legs to gain an unfair advantage, or to push, pull, hold, strike, or force through one or more participants. Any violation of this Section shall result in a variable time penalty.

But, they also state:

Obstruction. Participants shall refrain from intentionally or accidentally blocking, charging, obstructing, or interfering with the forward progress of another participant. Any violation of this Section shall result in a variable time penalty.

Even though I swim free style, I'm  slow, and I think it's incumbent upon the slower swimmer to give way to a faster one coming up from behind. The tap on the foot is the hint.   Unfortunately, packed swims don't often provide enough room to do this without infringing on someone else's space.  Until race officials make an effort to enforce a code of conduct in the swim, at least in the most egregious cases, or provide more sets of staggered starts, the problem will persist.  This is a serious problem that will only grow with the increasing popularity of triathon.  I hope it doesn't take fatalities for USAT officials to tighten up this part of the sport.