Latest news with #aquatics
ABC News
6 days ago
- Climate
- ABC News
Moesha Johnson wins first Australian 10km gold at World Aquatics Championships
Moesha Johnson has won Australia's first 10-kilometre open water world title as compatriot Kyle Lee opened the team medal tally with bronze in the men's race. It is Australia's fifth open water world title over all distances with Johnson and Lee in the quartet that will defend the mixed team title at the Singapore World Aquatics Championships. The water temperature was 30-plus degrees Celsius and conditions were described on social media as "human soup". There were also two postponements for the 10km events because of water quality concerns. Johnson, who claimed silver in the same event at the Paris Olympics, won in two hours, seven minutes and 51.30 seconds. It is her first individual open water world championship. She finished 4.40 seconds ahead of Italian Ginevra Taddeucci, with Lisa Pou from Monaco winning bronze. Fellow Australian and Paris Olympics teammate Chelsea Gubecka finished ninth. The men's race became the first final to be decided at the world titles in Singapore after the women's 10km event was moved from Tuesday to Wednesday because of water quality concerns. The two open-water events were also postponed from Wednesday morning to the afternoon at Palawan Beach on Sentosa Island, south of Singapore, again because of the dirty sea water. Organisers then said water samples collected on Tuesday afternoon had shown a "significant improvement" and went ahead with Wednesday competition. "That was definitely harder than Paris. The heat, 36-hour delay, the strong currents … that was one of the hardest circumstances and open water conditions I have been part of," Johnson said. "Since the Olympics I have tried to embrace every opportunity and race with the feeling that I have nothing left to prove … I've had back-to-back illnesses but my family and faith got me through. "And to all those that finished today … hats off to you. All open water skills were on display today. And I am so proud of this team — we had two girls and two guys in the top 10 and that's a credit to this whole Dolphins team." German Florian Wellbrock won his sixth open-water world championship, clocking 1:59.55.50. He beat Italian Gregorio Paltrinieri by 3.70 seconds, with Lee 14.80 seconds behind Wellbrock in third place. The Australian Paris Olympian beat another German, Oliver Klemet, by just 0.1 of a second to win his first individual world championships medal. "We prepared for these conditions in Darwin and to be honest … I am just in shock," Lee said. Nicholas Sloman, who also competed in Paris, finished eighth. Johnson, Lee, Gubecka and Sloman are the reigning world mixed team champions. Wellbrock also won the 10km event at the Tokyo Olympics. He was unhappy about the circumstances around the event postponements. "That was very, very annoying. We don't understand why World Aquatics informs coaches and committees about such circumstances in the middle of the night," Wellbrock said. Other open-water races in Singapore are also set for Friday, Saturday and Sunday. Water quality was a key issue at last year's Olympics, with the triathlon and marathon swimming events held in the River Seine. After a massive project to clean up the river for the Games, heavy rain meant the men's individual triathlon was postponed by one day. All other events went ahead as scheduled. Once she competes in her open-water events, Johnson will also contest the 800m and 1,500m freestyle in the pool at the world titles. AAP
The Guardian
6 days ago
- Sport
- The Guardian
Moesha Johnson wins Australia's first 10km open-water swimming gold at world championships
Moesha Johnson has won Australia's first 10km open water world title as compatriot Kyle Lee opened the team medal tally with bronze in the men's race. It is Australia's fifth open water world title over all distances with Johnson and Lee in the quartet that will defend the mixed-team title at the Singapore world aquatics championships. The water temperature was 30C and conditions were described on social media as 'human soup'. There were also two postponements for the 10km events because of water quality concerns. Johnson, who claimed silver in the same event at the Paris Olympics, won in two hours seven minutes 51.30 seconds. It is also her first individual open water world championship. She finished 4.40 seconds ahead of Italian Ginevra Taddeucci and Lisa Pou from Monaco won bronze. Fellow Australian and Paris Olympics teammate Chelsea Gubecka finished ninth. The two open-water events were postponed at Palawan Beach on Sentosa Island, south of Singapore, because of the dirty sea water. Organisers then said water samples collected on Tuesday afternoon had shown a 'significant improvement' and went ahead with Wednesday competition. 'That was definitely harder than Paris,' Johnson said. 'The heat, 36-hour delay, the strong currents … that was one of the hardest circumstances and open water conditions I have been part of. 'Since the Olympics I have tried to embrace every opportunity and race with the feeling that I have nothing left to prove … I've had back-to-back illnesses but my family and faith got me through. 'And to all those that finished today … hats off to you. All open water skills were on display today. And I am so proud of this team – we had two girls and two guys in the top 10 and that's a credit to this whole Dolphins team.' German Florian Wellbrock won his sixth open-water world championship, clocking one hour 59 minutes 55.50 seconds. He beat Italian Gregorio Paltrinieri by 3.70 seconds, with Lee 14.80 seconds behind Wellbrock in third place. The Australian Paris Olympian beat another German, Oliver Klemet, by just 0.1 of a second to win his first individual world championships medal. 'We prepared for these conditions in Darwin and to be honest … I am just in shock,' Lee said. Nicholas Sloman, who also competed in Paris, finished eighth. Johnson, Lee, Gubecka and Sloman are the reigning world mixed team champions. Once she competes in her open-water events, Johnson will also contest the 800m and 1500m freestyle in the pool at the worlds.
Independent Singapore
11-07-2025
- Sport
- Independent Singapore
2025 World Aquatics Championships opening ceremony in Singapore marked by inspiring cultural performances
Photo: Istvan Derencsenyi/World Aquatics Website / The 2025 World Aquatics Championships, taking place in Singapore, recently kicked off with a grand opening ceremony at the Singtel Waterfront Theatre. The event showcased a series of captivating and inspiring performances. Singapore's President Tharman Shanmugaratnam attended the official opening, together with government ministers and members of the World Aquatics community. A variety of cultural performances highlighting Singapore's strong bond with water were presented in the ceremony. A Parade of Flags representing the 206 countries with registered athletes was presented through a video display. About 2,500 athletes will participate in the competition set to run from July 11 to Aug 3. Highlights of the event The evening started with a remarkable performance of the Rainwoven dance by the School of the Arts, Singapore, to celebrate diversity and the strength found in unity. The national anthem of Singapore was then sung by the Victoria Junior College Choir, a group recognised internationally for its numerous awards. World Aquatics President Husain Al Musallam extended a warm welcome to all the participants. ' On behalf of World Aquatics, I would like to thank Singapore, the Government, the Organising Committee, the Sports Ministry and Singapore Aquatics for coming up so quickly and hosting the 22nd edition of the World Aquatics Championships in Singapore,' he said. He added: 'It's a record for our World Aquatics Championships – 206 countries registered to participate here in Singapore and nearly 2,500 athletes.' President Tharman Shanmugaratnam also welcomed the worldwide aquatics community to the country, noting, 'Over the next three weeks, we will witness about 2,500 athletes from around the world compete over 77 medal events. Singapore is also happy to welcome almost 6,000 masters-aged athletes who are here for the World Aquatics Masters Championships. What we celebrate, too, is the quiet but profound way in which sport can bring us together, even when we are rooting for different teams. In a world increasingly divided, sport reminds us that we can strive together, even as we compete; that we can demonstrate our common humanity.' The president added, ' It's a real honour for Singapore to host the 2025 World Aquatics Championships, and the first time too, that a Southeast Asian nation is hosting the event. And as Captain Husain observed, it's a special moment for Singapore, because it's also the year in which we celebrate our 60th anniversary since independence.' The ceremony concluded with a tribute video followed by a performance of 'Singa Roar' by the Movement for the Intellectually Disabled of Singapore (MINDS). This percussion piece highlighted the Chinese, Malay, Indian, and Latino drums, celebrating Singapore's rich cultural diversity and the harmonious collaboration with people from all over the world. The complete schedule for the World Aquatics Championships – Singapore 2025 is available here. () => { const trigger = if ('IntersectionObserver' in window && trigger) { const observer = new IntersectionObserver((entries, observer) => { => { if ( { lazyLoader(); // You should define lazyLoader() elsewhere or inline here // Run once } }); }, { rootMargin: '800px', threshold: 0.1 }); } else { // Fallback setTimeout(lazyLoader, 3000); } });
CNA
10-07-2025
- Sport
- CNA
'Looking positive' that temporary facility for World Aquatics Champs will remain for some time: SportSG chief
SINGAPORE: Authorities are optimistic that the temporary facility to be used for several events at the upcoming World Aquatics Championships will remain for some time, said Sport Singapore chief executive Alan Goh on Thursday (Jul 10). Speaking at the event's opening press conference, Mr Goh gave what is the clearest indication so far that the facility which was built in the car park next to the Leisure Park Kallang mall will be available for public use. "Indeed, we started out building pools that's temporary, again taking reference from past editions of World Aquatics (Championships)," said Mr Goh, who is also co-chairperson of the championships along with former Olympian Mark Chay. "But as we progressed the project along, we also started to think about whether it made sense to try to explore ways of keeping the pool beyond (the) duration of the championships. And that is looking positive." While he stopped short of confirming the move, Mr Goh said that authorities are hoping that Singaporeans will benefit from the arena as well. "We will share the confirmation when it's ready, but I'll just say that ... having built a nice facility which is hosting world-class aquatics competition events, we do look to keep it for a little longer and then have Singaporeans benefit from (being able) to use the place," he said. The World Aquatics Championships will be held in Singapore from Jul 11 to Aug 3, with about 40,000 international visitors – comprising spectators, athletes, officials, production crew and media expected. A new 4,800-capacity arena, which was built in the car park next to Leisure Park Kallang, will host the championships' swimming and artistic swimming events. The water polo and diving competitions will be held at the OCBC Aquatic Centre, while the high diving and open water swimming events will be held in Sentosa. In February, then Senior Parliamentary Secretary for the Ministry of Culture, Community and Youth Eric Chua said that authorities were also studying the possibility of using the temporary facility as a training and competition venue for other meets and for athlete training, and of making it available for public use. "FANTASTIC FACILITY" Speaking on Thursday, World Aquatics president Husain Al Musallam thanked organisers for their "hard work and difficult work". "Singapore is the first country in Southeast Asia hosting the World Aquatics Championships, with a fantastic facility. And the facility is (a) continuation of the legacy of the Youth Olympic Games in 2010," he said. What the world swimming body is looking out for is that venues must be "fit" for technical requirements and for the seating capacities of venues to be "based on the experience" of what the host nation expects, added Mr Al Musallam. Singapore was picked as the host after the biennial event was relocated from the Russian city of Kazan in response to Russia's invasion of Ukraine. The championships feature the six disciplines of swimming, water polo, diving, artistic swimming, open water swimming and high diving. Among the big names expected to vie for top honours in Singapore are American legend Katie Ledecky, France's hotshot Leon Marchand and 18-year-old Canadian swimming sensation Summer Mcintosh. The main competition pool measures 50m by 26m and has a depth of 3m. Foundation work for the venue began in December last year, with construction taking place from January to May this year. The pool is significantly deeper than the 2.15m La Defense competition pool at last year's Paris Olympics, which had been criticised by some for being too shallow, resulting in fewer records broken. The facility made use of the starting blocks from the Paris Games, with pool temperatures kept at a constant range of 25 to 28 degrees Celsius. And this makes it a "very nice pool to swim in", said local Olympian Gan Ching Hwee. Gan, who holds multiple national records, will be part of the 72-strong home contingent set to compete at the meet. "Feels like a fast pool ... I really love the lighting and how the sound of everyone's cheers (echoes) through the arena – it's very motivating," said Gan, who was in the stands at the venue to catch the Southeast Asian Age Group Aquatics Championships last month.
Yahoo
22-06-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Officials warn of water risks as summer activities increase
'Remind kids to ask permission before going near water and always make sure someone is watching,' said Jess Lukas, Burlington YMCA aquatics director.
