The 25km open water races at the European Aquatics Championships were on Saturday abandoned in confusion almost two-thirds of the way through as the weather deteriorated, with organizers deciding they could not declare a winner.
The men’s and women’s races in the sea at Ostia in Rome were originally scheduled for Thursday, but called off because of strong winds and big waves. They were rescheduled for Saturday when thunderstorms were forecast for Friday.
The 5km races were completed on Saturday morning with Sharon Van Rouwendaal of the Netherlands winning the women’s race and Italians Gregorio Paltrinieri and Domenico Acerenza the men’s gold and silver.
Photo: AFP
The weather had started to worsen by the time the longer races started and the swell then grew worse.
After more than three-and-a-half hours of swimming, with the men having swum 15km, and Paltrinieri and Acerenza again one and two, the races were halted. Italians Barbara Pozzobon and Veronica Santoni had been at the front of the women’s race.
“Due to a case of emergency because of the weather conditions, both chief referees and the safety delegate decided to stop the races immediately for the safety of the athletes and officials on the course,” European Aquatics in a statement.
The judges on land had trouble communicating with those at sea on water scooters in the “extreme conditions,” leading to confusion over when the race was actually stopped and in telling swimmers.
After a delay of several hours, organizers ruled they could not be sure exactly when racing had stopped and therefore could not determine a final order.
Often when a race is abandoned, the swimmers head straight for the finish to determine the winner, and some contestants did that on Saturday.
French swimmer Aurelie Muller, a double 10km world champion and the bronze medalist in the 5km in the morning, voiced her disapproval on Twitter.
“Another great promotion of our sport,” she wrote.
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