Triathletes competing in the Birmingham Commonwealth Games are at risk of swimming in water contaminated with raw sewage, reports say.
The warning follows Environment Agency statistics, analyzed by the Liberal Democrats, showing that raw sewage flowed into the waters of the Sutton Park triathlon site last year, and that monitoring equipment had been out of order for a long time.
Campaigners warned that the wastewater could have been dumped for 314 days last year into Wyndley Pool, another lake connected by a canal to Powell’s Pool.
Powell’s Pool, where the 750-foot swim will take place, is the largest of seven lakes in Sutton Park, which has a history of sewage spillage.
That includes two in 2019, while Severn Trent – a water supply company – was fined £500,000 (NZ$966,546) the same year for a 2013 spill that spilled thousands of gallons of wastewater into Longmoor Pool as a result of a blockage in the sewerage system at the site. company system.
Birmingham 2022 organizers quickly allayed concerns by pointing out that athletes will not be swimming in Longmoor Pool, and regular testing by Games organizers and Birmingham City Council showed the results were in line with international federation regulations.
Five Kiwis will compete in the triathlon on the opening day of the competition, starting Friday night (NZT), one less than initially scheduled.
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Triathletes competing in the 2022 Commonwealth Games have been warned they could swim in sewage-contaminated water.
Ainsley Thorpe will not compete in the women’s individual race on Saturday morning (NZT) after becoming the first Kiwi athlete to be taken out of a Birmingham 2022 event due to Covid-19.
The 24-year-old withdrew after contracting the virus in Spain, the New Zealand Olympic Committee confirmed.
Thorpe, who has mild symptoms and is receiving medical support, was based in Girona for pre-match training camp.
The good news for Thorpe is that her Commonwealth Games are not necessarily over, as she may still qualify for Sunday night’s mixed relay (NZT), pending assessment by New Zealand’s team doctors.
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Kiwi triathlete Ainsley Thorpe has been dropped from the women’s individual race at the Commonwealth Games due to Covid-19.
Nicole van der Kaay and Andrea Hansen (née Hewitt) will compete in the women’s individual race, while Hayden Wilde, Tayler Reid and Dylan McCullough will line up Friday night (NZT) in the men’s race.
Thorpe’s withdrawal follows an unnamed male Kiwi athlete who tested positive for the virus on arrival in England this week.
As reported at the beginning of the month, New Zealand athletes who contract Covid-19 can still compete in the Birmingham Games in 2022, which will have much more relaxed rules and guidelines than at last year’s Tokyo Olympics.
Members of the 232-strong Kiwi team, which has stricter rules than the protocols of the Games, will not be tested daily for the virus, but will undergo symptomatic PCR (Polymerase Chain Reaction) tests as needed.
A positive test also does not automatically lead to isolation, as has been the case for most sports teams during the pandemic for the past two years, while close contacts are monitored but also not automatically isolated.
New Zealand media reporting the games are required to wear face masks when interviewing Kiwi athletes or in their vicinity.