Tuesday 11 August 2015 10:35, UK
Thirteen members of the United States rowing team fell ill after taking part in the world junior championships in Rio de Janeiro, a trial run for the 2016 Olympics.
The US team doctor said she suspected the illnesses were down to pollution at the Freitas Lagoon venue, one of many where concerns about water quality have been raised.
Other teams in the competition reported illnesses, although none was as hard hit as the Americans and World Rowing, the sport's governing body, said the level was about as expected at an event featuring 500 young participants.
United States coach Susan Francia, a two-time Olympic gold-medal rower, said 13 athletes and four staff members suffered gastrointestinal symptoms during the team’s two weeks of training in Rio.
Kathryn Ackerman, the team's doctor, said athletes from several other countries stayed in the same hotel as the Americans, but did not seem to get as sick as her rowers.
“I don’t know if it was the water bottles in the boats, or hygiene precautions that some athletes are really good about and others weren’t,” she said. “We’re not really sure. My personal feeling is, I think it’s from the lake."
An Associated Press analysis of water quality began in March, finding dangerously high levels of sewage in all Olympic venues, with viruses known to cause digestive and respiratory illnesses.
