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Water quality issues force cancellation of open water training sessions at World Aquatics Masters Champs

Water quality issues force cancellation of open water training sessions at World Aquatics Masters Champs

CNA6 days ago
SINGAPORE: Open water training sessions at Sentosa for the World Aquatic Masters Championships were cancelled on Friday (Jul 25) as a result of "water quality levels exceeding acceptable thresholds".
In a message to participants seen by CNA, World Aquatics announced the cancellation of the morning and afternoon sessions.
It added that a technical meeting is planned for 4.45pm and that it will "continue monitoring water quality" and provide more information prior to the women's 3km race tomorrow.
The Masters Championships features athletes aged 25 and above, with age groups for individual events in five-year bands, starting from 25-29.
Sentosa is the venue for the high diving and open water swimming events at the Championships. It is also hosting the open water swimming events at the Masters Championships.
This news follows postponements at the World Aquatics Championships earlier this month as a result of E. coli bacteria.
On Jul 15, the women's 10km race at the was postponed just hours before it was set to begin, with organisers saying that the water quality levels did not meet "acceptable thresholds" as a result of an analysis of samples taken last Sunday.
The race was then pushed back to Jul 16 morning.
World Aquatics executive director Brent Nowicki said later that elevated levels of the E. coli bacteria were responsible for the race postponement. He added that the source of the contamination had yet to be determined.
E. coli are bacteria typically found in the intestines of humans and animals. Common symptoms of ingesting a pathogenic strain of E. coli include vomiting and diarrhoea.
Tests conducted in the weeks and months leading up to the event had shown results within "acceptable limits", he added.
Following Mr Nowicki's comments, World Aquatics said then that water quality results had "improved", but further tests showed that levels still exceeded "acceptable thresholds" after testing conducted earlier in the day.
The events eventually went ahead on Jul 16 afternoon.
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