Polluted seawater?
Triathletes get diarrhea after competition
08/05/2023, 21:01
Actually, it should be a sporting challenge. But at the World Triathlon Championship Series in England, the participants tend to struggle after the competition. Dozens of them have not felt well at all since then. Wastewater in the sea could be to blame.
At least 57 participants have complained of malaise and diarrhea after competing in the World Triathlon Championship Series in Sunderland, UK. According to a report in the Guardian newspaper, the health authorities have confirmed this. A total of around 2000 people started over the various distances on the last weekend in July.
A possible cause is seawater polluted by sewage discharges. An environmental agency found an unusually high level of coliform bacteria on a nearby beach three days before the event: the levels were therefore 39 times higher than normal.
Jacob Birtwhistle, an Australian triathlete, posted the Environment Agency’s results to Instagram and said he felt unwell after the competition. He wrote: “I’ve been feeling pretty bad since the race but that’s what happens when you swim in shit. The swim should have been cancelled.”
Organizer denies abnormalities
The British health authority now wants to examine samples from sick participants to find out the exact cause. The British Triathlon Association said its water samples had not revealed any abnormalities. In doing so, he contradicted the results of an environmental agency and announced that their samples had been taken outside the stretch of coast in question and were only published after the competition.
The local water supplier also denied any abnormalities. According to a statement, no more discharges that could have affected the water quality have been registered since October 2021.
There has been a longstanding dispute between environmentalists and the authorities over wastewater discharges in the north-east region of England. The German triathlete Annika Koch finished third last Saturday over 750 meters swimming, 20 kilometers cycling and 5 kilometers running.