E. coli bacteria caused open water swimming delay at World Aquatics C'ships, start to be determined
The pontoon used for the open water venue at the World Aquatics Championships in Sentosa on July 7.
SINGAPORE – Tests are underway to determine if water quality at Sentosa meets safety standards, after 'exceeding levels of E. coli' caused the open water swimming competition at the World Aquatics Championships (WCH) to be postponed on July 15.
Originally slated to begin on July 15 with the women's 10km race, the competition was delayed by a day after water quality off Sentosa exceeded acceptable thresholds.
World Aquatics executive director Brent Nowicki said in a press interview on July 15 that exceeding levels of the bacteria were detected in a test taken on July 13, prompting the postponement.
He explained that water samples had been regularly tested for months leading up to the race and previously fell within acceptable limits set by World Aquatics. They were also in line with the standards set by the World Health Organisation.
While the sample was taken on July 13, the results returned only on the evening of July 14. The world governing body received the test results at about 9.30pm to 10pm, showing E. coli levels beyond the safety standard.
E. coli is a bacteria that lives in the intestines of people and animals and is commonly found in human and animal faeces. While most E. coli are harmless, some can make people sick with diarrhoea, urinary tract infections, pneumonia, sepsis and other illnesses.
According to competition regulations by World Aquatics, acceptable E. coli levels for ocean and transitional (tidal) waters must not exceed 250 colony-forming units per 100 millilitres (cfu/ml).
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Noting that there is usually a 12 to 24-hour turnaround for test results to come through, he said: 'We don't know why that is the case because testing has been very sound and solid along the way.
'It appears – I'm speculating – to be an isolated incident that happened somewhere on Saturday or Sunday, which caused the spike to happen prior to the test taking place and the results coming to us the way they did.'
Upon receiving the results, World Aquatics convened its leadership team, including their sports medical committee and technical committee, to discuss the results.
Teams were then informed of the postponement before World Aquatics issued a statement an hour later past midnight.
The women's 10km race is now scheduled to take place on July 16 (10.15am), after the men's 10km race which flags off at 7.30am.
A total of 69 athletes, including Singapore's Chantal Liew and Kate Ona, are slated to compete in the women's event.
The remaining open water events – the men's and women's 5km (July 18), the 3km knock-out sprint (July 19), and the mixed 4x1500m relay (July 20) – are expected to proceed as planned.
Another round of water testing was conducted on the morning of July 15, with preliminary results expected in the evening. Racing will proceed as planned if the those results are satisfactory.
A secondary test will also be performed later in the day on July 15, with results available by the following morning.
If the first test fails, the second will serve as a back up to determine whether racing can proceed in the afternoon.
If water quality remains an issue, contingency plans such as potentially moving the course could be implemented.
Nowicki said: 'We have a variety of different options that we can use and locations that we can look at.
'So it could be Sentosa or it could not be in Sentosa. It's not something we are planning right now so it's a bit premature to talk about alternative sites... If that doesn't happen, we'll worry about that after that.'
Nowicki also noted that water quality disruptions are not unprecedented. At the 2024 Paris Olympics, the men's triathlon was postponed just hours before the scheduled start due to pollution levels in the River Seine.
Nowicki said: 'We're prepared to accept that risk and push on with the event, testing the water, making sure it meets our standards and we're confident that the water quality will come back to the acceptable levels and the competition will continue.'
The water temperature is also being closely monitored and has remained within acceptable limits, he added.
This year's World Aquatics Championships, hosted in Singapore for the first time, began on July 11 with the water polo tournament at the OCBC Aquatic Centre.
The event features six disciplines: swimming, diving, high diving, artistic swimming, water polo, and open water swimming, with more than 2,500 athletes from over 200 countries and territories participating.
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