CGF deny contamination fears in CWG swimming pools as pigeon rumours do rounds

NEW DELHI - The Commonwealth Games Federation (CGF) has played down fears of contamination in the swimming pools at the Dr. S.P. Mukherjee Aquatics Complex in New Delhi.

A CGF spokesman said that the water quality testing conducted by the Delhi Commonwealth Games Organizing Committee had given the pools the “all clear”.

The test was conducted after CGF President Mike Fennell said that the issue of suspected cases of gastroenteritis among swimmers was being considered “as a matter of urgency”.

“If there’s something unsafe, you can’t swim in that water, so we will have to deal with it,” The Australian quoted Fennell, as saying.

It was earlier speculated that pigeon droppings might have contaminated the water.

Pigeons are roosting in the rafters of the building, and their droppings are visible in the grandstands.

Swimmers who have complained of stomach upsets in the past week include Robert Hurley, Ryan Napoleon, Marieke Guehrer, Ashley Delaney and Daniel Arnamnart.

“They (the three most serious cases) are not being hospitalized, but if it gets to the stage of being more serious our medical director will get involved,” Australia’s team chief Steve Moneghetti said.

“There’s only three cases we’re monitoring at this point in time and they’re not swimmers. But there seems to be a larger number of swimmers - over a dozen - (who are ill). It seems quite isolated to the swim team at this time,” he added.

Moneghetti further said that his team’s medical staff did not think that the stomach upsets were a result of food being served in the athletes’ village.

“(Dr. Peter Harcourt) doesn’t think it’s food-related as it seems more confined to one particular sport,” Moneghetti said.

“Obviously we’re all eating in the dining hall or the casual dining hall - all eating the same food - and there’s very few cases across the board, just more cases specifically in one sport,” he added. (ANI)