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Florian Wellbrock and Moesha Johnson claimed 10 km golds after delays at the World Aquatics Championships.
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Improved conditions allowed the races to proceed.
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The event mirrored Paris 2023’s water issues.
Germany’s Florian Wellbrock won his third men’s 10 km open-water gold at the World Aquatics Championships in Singapore after organizers delayed the start for hours over poor water quality.
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When the race finally began at 1 p.m. on Sentosa Island, the 2021 Olympic champion touched in at 1 hr 59 min 55.50 sec.
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Italy’s Gregorio Paltrinieri finished just 3.70 sec later for silver, and Australia’s Kyle Lee grabbed bronze.
Wellbrock said of the 30 °C conditions:
“Well, that was tough—hotter water than I’ve ever raced in. A year of heat training paid off,”
Early-morning tests showed high bacterial levels, so World Aquatics postponed both the men’s and women’s events.
By afternoon, further analysis confirmed E. coli counts had fallen into the “good” to “excellent” range, so they resumed competition.
At 4 p.m., Australia’s Moesha Johnson built on her Paris-Olympics silver by claiming women’s 10 km gold in 2 hr 7 min 51.30 sec.
Italy’s Ginevra Taddeucci took silver, and Monaco’s Lisa Pou – 18th in Paris surprised everyone with bronze.
“Regular water monitoring ensures athlete safety,” – World Aquatics said, and pledged to keep testing.
Last year’s Paris Games saw organizers cancel six Seine events due to pollution despite a €1.4 billion treatment upgrade.
These setbacks underline both the athletes’ resilience and the need for clean open-water venues.
