Florian Wellbrock won the gold medal in open water at the swimming World Cup in Singapore.
The 27-year-old won in the race over ten kilometers on Wednesday. The open water races had previously been postponed due to a lack of water quality. According to the World Aquatics, further measurements would then have shown a “significant improvement” of the conditions.
Germany’s Florian Wellbrock in the lead at the swimming World Cup in Singapore
Women start at 10 a.m.
At 10 a.m. CEST, women should also start with the German swimmers Lea Boy and Jeannette Spiwoks (here in the livestream).
After the races over the ten kilometers, the five kilometers are planned for Friday, the new knock-out sprint on Saturday and the season on Sunday.
Shifting due to water quality
The races on the Palawan Beach on the island of Sentosa were actually scheduled for Wednesday morning (local time). However, since limit values had been exceeded in the water quality, the competitions followed again. Before that, the women’s race had already been postponed from Tuesday to Wednesday, but the decision had only been announced a few hours before the planned start. National coach Bernd Berkhahn then expressed criticism.
Criticism also came from swimmers. “This is really annoying. What active people are expected to do is simply not okay”said the two-time tea world champion Boy.
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.