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.
Alexander Zverev on Wednesday reached his 18th ATP Masters semi-final in Rome, but only after a worrying fall which sparked memories of the horror injury he had at the French Open two years ago. The world No. 5 from Germany defeated Taylor Fritz of the US 6-4, 6-3 in Italian Open to set up a last-four duel with Alejandro Tabilo, the Chilean journeyman who had stunned world No. 1 Novak Djokovic earlier in the tournament. Zverev’s moment of concern came in just the third game on center court at the Foro Italico when he fell on the clay and landed on his
Andre de Grasse, the reigning Olympic champion in the men’s 200m, and many other top-class international athletes are to showcase their talent in Taipei at the Taiwan Athletics Open early next month, according to the event’s official Web site. The Canadian sprinter, who clocked 19.62 seconds to top the podium in Tokyo in 2021, is to compete at the Taipei Stadium after the two-day event was upgraded to a leg of the World Athletics Continental Tour. The elevated status of the Taiwan Athletics Open means participants can earn more ranking points, making it possible for the Chinese Taipei Athletics Association (CTAA), the
Novak Djokovic on Sunday described his shock third-round elimination from the Internazionali BNL d’Italia by Alejandro Tabilo as “concerning,” two days after he was hit on the head by a bottle, which he said has caused nausea and dizzy spells. Djokovic’s bid for a record-extending 41st Masters 1000 title was ended in just more than an hour by Chilean Tabilo, who is ranked 32nd in the world and claimed his first win over a top-10 opponent, 6-2, 6-3. The 24-time Grand Slam winner said that his subdued performance on a court where he has won six titles might have been due to
TO REAL MADRID? Kylian Mbappe informed PSG privately in February of his intention to depart when his contract expires, but this was the first time he acknowledged it publicly French soccer player Kylian Mbappe on Friday confirmed that he is to leave French champions Paris Saint-Germain at the end of the season, with Real Madrid widely expected to be his next destination. The announcement brings an end to a prolific association with his hometown team, which began when he signed from AS Monaco in 2017 in a deal worth 180 million euros (US$194 million). “I wanted to announce to you all that it’s my last year at Paris Saint-Germain. I will not extend and the adventure will come to an end in a few weeks,” Mbappe, 25, said in a video