Rio de Janeiro’s state environmental company declared some waters close to the swimming website unsuitable for bathing on Friday however the worries didn’t appear to hassle most rivals.
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U.S. triathlon could qualify up to three men for the 2016 Olympics but have no Rio medal favorites at this point.
Sarah True earned the second U.S. womens Olympic qualifying slot with a 4th place finish at Brazils Copacabana Beach, 19 seconds behind Holland.
RIO DE JANEIRO Javier Gomez guaranteed Spain a place in next year’s Olympic triathlon by winning the ITU Olympic Qualification Event in Rio on Sunday as uneven road conditions caused problems for the athletes.
The event was vital for athletes looking to secure spots on their national Olympic teams but just as much a test of the city’s ability to stage the world’s biggest sporting event in exactly 12 months.
“We have new aquaboats to clean the Bay, new eco-barriers to prevent garbage reaching the Bay as well as piping to remove sewage”.
The primary day of the triathlon world championship occasion noticed para-athletes swim within the Atlantic waters and bike and run within the streets close by.
ISF Chief Executive Officer Pete Sowrey said his concern isn’t just for sailors, but for “everyone who goes out into the water“.
And the governing body of world sailing says it will start doing its own independent virus tests. “That’s my plan”.
The AP investigation also showed venues for triathlon and open-water swimming off Copacabana Beach are filled with bacteria and viruses that pose a threat to athletes and tourists.
The sailing venue in Guanabara Bay is badly polluted, as is a separate venue for rowing and canoeing – Rodrigo de Freitas lake – in central Rio.
The origin of the story about the testing can be traced back to a statement the WHO sent to the AP, in which the global organization expressed its desire to “widen the scientific base” of what types of dangers and pollutants are measured in the tests.
In a statement to the AP, the WHO said it suggested the IOC start monitoring for viruses at the Rio venues. Virology experts in Brazil say there are only three or four labs with the molecular biology equipment and trained scientists who can carry out the testing for viruses in water.
“I am not involved concerning the water”, stated Alison Patrick, a blind British athlete who gained the P-5 ladies’s’ triathlon in partnership together with her sighted information Grace France. “Ultimately too much money has been invested”.
Additionally the thousands of sailing hours spent by Olympic hopeful’s familarising they with the flat waters of Guanabara Bay will have been for naught.
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When Rio was awarded the Olympics in 2009, it promised cleaning its waters would be an Olympic legacy.
