New York Times: "Olympians Shouldn’t Swim Through Sewage"

Lynne Cox wrote a nice opinion piece on water quality and safety of swimmers, triathletes and sailors    at Guanabara Bay and Copacabana Beach in Rio de Janeiro. One conclusion to avoid viral or bacterial infections could be a very bold move by organizers of 2016 Olympic Games and country of Brazil:

"The president of the International Olympic Committee, Thomas Bach, has said that “the competition area for the athletes will offer safe and fair conditions.” It is the committee’s responsibility to ensure this is so. The aquatic events must be moved to safe, clean waters — and if that can’t be found in Brazil, they must be transferred to another country.

While there is no modern precedent for a binational Olympics, and the committee’s charter may forbid them, such a move may be the only solution, short of canceling these races. But that would shatter the dreams of athletes who have trained most of their lives to reach the Olympic Games. They deserve a chance to compete where the water won’t hurt them."

1. Olympians Shouldn’t Swim Through Sewage

IRONMAN announced changes to global competition rules to counter technical fraud (mechanical doping)

IRONMAN announced today, that it has strengthened its global competition rules to combat technological fraud (also known as mechanical fraud). As a leader in the endurance industry, IRONMAN is partnering with the Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) to leverage the latest technology to combat the concealment of motors or other artificial accelerating devices by athletes looking to gain an unfair advantage.

Mechanical doping is already present at various levels of bicycle racing. Belgian female cyclocross rider Femke Van den Driessche has been banned for six years for mechanical doping form UCI races using a hidden motor adding some extra wattage. The ban is backdated to October 11, 2015, and she must also pay a fine of 20,000 Swiss francs. One commonly found setup is a seattube based motor and battery pack. Picture: vivax drive GmbH & Co KG

“Technological fraud is contrary to the spirit of IRONMAN and of fair play,” said Andrew Messick, Chief Executive Officer of IRONMAN. “Athletes who choose to gain advantage by such means undermine the trust and norms of our community, the tenet of fair competition, and the accomplishment of completing the entire race under one’s own power.”

IRONMAN will be actively inspecting bicycles at races around the world – including all Championship races. Inspections will primarily occur following the bike portion of the event, after athletes have transitioned to the run.

“The UCI is committed to eradicating technological fraud and will collaborate with IRONMAN on best practices to help keep the sport of triathlon fair,” added Mark Barfield UCI Technical Manager. The penalty for technological fraud will be disqualification from the relevant event and indefinite suspension from all IRONMAN events. To see the complete IRONMAN Global Competition rules, please visit: www.ironman.com/rules-and-regulations.aspx.