World Aquatics Championships: Sentosa open water events to begin after ‘significant improvement’ in water quality

E. coli are bacteria typically found in the intestines of humans and animals. Common symptoms of ingesting a pathogenic strain of E. coli include vomiting and diarrhoea.

Mr Nowicki said World Aquatics adheres to “acceptable limits” set by the World Health Organization and that tests are outsourced to “outside testing agencies” to ensure rigour and independence.

Tests conducted in the weeks and months leading up to the event had shown results within “acceptable limits”, he added.

Later on Tuesday, World Aquatics said that water quality results had “improved”, but further tests showed that levels still exceeded “acceptable thresholds” after testing conducted earlier in the day.

This meant that the men’s 10km race and the women’s 10km race, which were scheduled for 7.30am and 10.15am on Wednesday, were postponed, subject to acceptable test results for samples collected on Tuesday evening.

Sentosa is the venue for the high diving and open water swimming events at the Championships.

The competition features four other sports – swimming, water polo, diving and artistic swimming.