E. coli bacteria causes open water swimming at World Aquatics C’ships to be delayed a second time

SINGAPORE – The start times of the men and women’s 10km open water swimming events at the World Aquatics Championships have been pushed back due to “unacceptable water quality results”, organisers announced on July 15 evening.

The women’s 10km event was initially scheduled for July 15. After water samples drawn at the race site off Sentosa two days prior showed “exceeding levels” of the Escherichia coli (E. coli) bacteria, it was moved to July 16, 10.15am, about three hours after the men’s 10km race.

But while the latest set of results from a sample taken on July 15 morning showed that water quality has improved, the levels are still above “acceptable thresholds”. Hence, the men and women’s races have been pushed to 1pm and 4pm respectively on July 16.

Another test was done at 5pm on July 15, with results expected to come in the following morning, which will determine whether the afternoon races can proceed.

In its statement, World Aquatics said: “Regular water quality monitoring and testing continues throughout the competition period to ensure athlete safety, with the health and safety of all participants continuing to guide all competition-related decisions.”

In an earlier media interview on July 15, World Aquatics executive director Brent Nowicki said the initial postponement was prompted by a test conducted on July 13 that revealed elevated E. coli levels.

E. coli is a bacteria commonly found in the intestines of people and animals. While most strains are harmless, some can cause serious illness such as diarrhoea, urinary tract infections, pneumonia and sepsis.

According to World Aquatics regulations, E. coli levels in ocean and transitional (tidal) waters must not exceed 250 colony-forming units per 100 millilitres (cfu/ml).

The Straits Times understands that World Aquatics adopts stricter water quality standards compared to guidelines set for recreational swimming, given the prolonged exposure faced by athletes during competition, with 10km races typically lasting around two hours.

Nowicki noted that water samples had been tested regularly for months in the lead-up to the event and had previously met both World Aquatics and World Health Organisation standards.

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.”

Sharing more details about the first delay, Nowicki explained that 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.

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.

On July 15 afternoon, Singapore Aquatics national coach and performance director (swimming) Gary Tan said: “Postponements are not uncommon in international open water swimming competitions, and our athletes are well accustomed to managing such changes.

“They remain in good spirits, and while the race will now take place at a later time slot, they have trained under similar conditions and are well-prepared to adapt.”

A total of 69 athletes are set to compete in the women’s 10km event, with Singapore’s Chantal Liew and Kate Ona among the entrants, while the men’s event features a field of 81, which includes Artyom Lukasevits and Ritchie Oh from the Republic.

The rest of the open water programme – the men and women’s 5km (July 18), the 3km knockout sprint (July 19), and the mixed 4x1,500m relay (July 20) – remains unchanged and is expected to proceed as planned.

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.