The sewage crisis has hit a new low in the UK, after approximately 60 athletes reported suffering from sickness and diarrhoea following the conclusion of a triathlon event in Sunderland – and one participant is adamant that the race should never have gone ahead.
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Top athletes complain of ‘sickness, diarrhoea’ after swimming in Sunderland
High levels of e-coli were detected at Roker Beach ahead of last week’s event. However, the health agency has disputed that the water was unfit for swimming, saying that their samples came back at an acceptable level.
Jake Birtwhistle, an Australian athlete, posted a picture to his Instagram account detailing just how high the e-coli readings were at the time. The estimates show that the presence of the harmful bacteria was ’39 times higher’ than usual.
Gold medalist laments ‘s**t’ quality of seawater
Despite the row, the event went ahead as planned – but it wiped out dozens of triathletes in the process. Birtwhistle has been leading the charge against the organisers, and detailed the torrid time he and his competitors have endured since their swim:
“I’ve been feeling pretty rubbish since the race, but I guess that’s what you get when you swim in s**t.” I wasn’t feeling great in the individual race, and although there are some positives to takeaway, the swim should have been cancelled.” | Jake Birtwhistle
Inquiry rumbles on as triathletes flock to condemn water pollution
British Triathlon officials are now working with Sunderland City Council and UKHSA to determine what led to such an unfortunate incident. Fin Goodman, who also took to the water last week, confirmed he took a turn for the worse shortly afterwards.
Ross McNaught also lamented the conditions, saying that this ‘explains why I spent Monday night with my head in the toilet’. With UK waterways now polluted beyond recognition, cleaning up our coastlines will prove to be a long and laborious task.