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.
TOOTHLESS: Bologna never looked like finding a way back, and Antonio Conte and his substitutes were waiting to celebrate long before the final whistle SSC Napoli on Monday lifted the Italian Supercoppa with a 2-0 win over Bologna in Riyadh, David Neres netting both goals to earn the league champions a deserved victory over the toothless Coppa Italia winners. Neres opened the scoring with a stunning strike from distance six minutes before halftime and found the net again in the 57th minute when Bologna were caught trying to play out of defense. “We came here as champions of Italy, we wanted this trophy and we showed it with a great performance,” Napoli forward Matteo Politano told Mediaset. “We could have scored a few more goals, but
Backup quarterback Luke Weaver on Wednesday night threw a 22-yard touchdown pass to Nick Cenacle with 10 seconds left, as the University of Hawaii rallied for a 35-31 comeback victory over the University of California, Berkeley in a thrilling Hawaii Bowl. Weaver entered the game after Micah Alejado took a hard hit on the previous play. With the Rainbow Warriors (9-4) in range for a tying field goal, coach Timmy Chang took a shot at the end zone, and Cenacle got between two defensive backs and made the contested catch. “How amazing is that?” Chang said. “It’s a program that is built
Hosts Morocco on Friday were held to a 1-1 draw by Mali at the Africa Cup of Nations, ending their world record run of wins and leaving them still to make sure of progress to the next stage. Midfielder Brahim Diaz tucked away a penalty in stoppage-time at the end of the first half, but Mali equalized from the spot midway through the second half through Lassine Sinayoko. Both penalties were awarded after video reviews in a tempestuous clash at the end of a busy day of action at the tournament. Morocco were atop the Group A standings with four points, while Zambia,
An astounding 20 wickets fell on a frantic first day of the fourth Ashes Test yesterday, with Australia all out for 152 before storming back to dismiss England for 110 and leave the clash on a knife-edge. England skipper Ben Stokes won a key toss on a green track and his quicks feasted after sending in the hosts under overcast skies in front of 94,199 fans at the Melbourne Cricket Ground. It was the biggest cricket crowd ever at the cavernous arena, exceeding the 93,013 who watched the 2015 World Cup final, and they witnessed the home side collapse with Josh Tongue
RSS