At the swimming World Cup in Singapore, further open water races had to be moved due to poor water quality. The German swimmers Lea Boy and Jeannette Spiwoks are affected for the second time.
As the World Aquatics’ Weltverband informed the teams on Tuesday, the water quality in Singapore is currently not acceptable. In the early Wednesday morning local time, however, there should be further test results and the situation is re -evaluated, the organizers said. According to this, there is also a chance to carry out the competitions on the Palawan Beach at a later time on Wednesday.
The 10-kilometer races of the men with the two German medal candidates Florian Wellbrock and Oliver Klemet and the competition of women over the same distance are actually affected for 1:30 a.m.
Lea Boy and Jeannette Spiwoks have to continue to wait
The two German starters Lea Boy and Jeannette Spiwoks have to wait for the second time. Her race should have already taken place on Tuesday, but was then postponed to 4.15 a.m. CEST (10.15 a.m. local time) on Wednesday. That doesn’t work either.
The new plan provides for men to start the men at 7:00 a.m. CEST (1 p.m. local time) and the women at 10 a.m. CEST (4:00 p.m. local time).
National coach Bernd Berkhahn expressed significant criticism of the organizers in Singapore, who had only postponed the race at short notice, seven hours before the originally planned start, the news reached the swimmers in the middle of the night.
Problems with dirty water also at the Olympics
Limit values for water quality should ensure the health of the athletes. “If the water quality is not right, there can be no races”Christian Hansmann, board member of competitive sports, was quoted by the association magazine of the German Swimming Association after the first shift. “When swimming open water, a start always depends on the external circumstances. We are used to such shifts from the Olympic Games in Paris last year and know how to deal with it.”
During the summer games there had always been discussions about the cleanliness of the water in the Seine. Swimming and triathlon training had been canceled. In the case of triathletes, the water quality also affected the competition plan.