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Despite health experts warning Rio 2016 Olympic athletes to keep their mouths shut when competing in open waters, Adam Oldershaw, former 2007 Rio Pan American Games coach is moving against the current.

Olympics: Canadian coach weighs in on Rio water debate


Leeanna McLean
Digital Reporter

Saturday, August 6, 2016, 12:04 PM - Despite health experts warning Rio 2016 Olympic athletes to keep their mouths shut when competing in open waters, Adam Oldershaw, former 2007 Rio Pan American Games coach is moving against the current.

The city has treated only 17 per cent of its sewage in the past seven years. Olympic organizers vowed to increase that figure to 80 per cent with officials promising a billion-dollar investment in cleanup programs to combat the issue. However, only one of eight planned treatment projects were built. Rio authorities now claim to have reached 50 per cent.


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Oldershaw is head coach of the Burloak Canoe Club in Oakville, Ont., where his brother and third generation Olympian Mark Oldershaw has paddled his entire life. Burloak Canoe Club is also the home club of one of Canada's most celebrated athletes, Adam van Koeverden.

Although Oldershaw says he has heard "horror stories" from coaches of other aquatic sports about water conditions, he isn't worried about the Canadian athletes competing in water events.

"I'm not that worried for them to be honest, because I know the teams they have behind them. Our national team, the Canadian Olympic team, they are not going to take half measures when it comes to the health and performance of their athletes," says the former Pan Am coach. "If there are steps to be taken, they will take those steps."

Looking back on the 2007 Pan Am Games in Rio de Janeiro, Oldershaw says there was no one on the team who got sick.

"I really don't remember the water particularly. Mostly we were focused on our training and performance. Water is one of those things where you're not going to notice the quality of it unless there is a problem. Which means, if we didn't notice it too much, then we didn't really have too many problems with it."

So long as the athletes take the proper precautions such as washing their hands before leaving a venue and taking a shower after a race, they can maintain their health, Oldershaw notes.

"Those things go a long way. The number one thing is being aware that if you're there and you get wet, you need to get cleaned up after," he says. "These athletes are very experienced, they have raced all over the world. They are very aware of what precautions they are going to need to take."

The activity that has a significant risk of water intake is swimming, which will take place in Copacabana beach. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), "this is a suitable location for such a practice where the levels of Escherichia coli (E. coli) and enterococci in water are within the standards for primary contact recreation."

Activities such as rowing and canoeing will take place on the brackish Lagoa de Freitas and sailing at Guanabarra Bay, where there is a lesser risk as exposure to the water is much lower than other sports.

"We are fortunate to be on a different venue than say on open water swimming or the sailing, which are the ones I've heard the worst horror stories from other coaches," says Oldershaw. "I don't want to get into too many gory details about this, but I've heard some sailing coaches talk about what they have had to sail pass out in the open water -- some garbage and things like that around... For the sake of the athletes that are competing out there, I do hope they manage to resolve those issues at least well enough to run a fair competition."

Some sites particularly near the Marina da Gloria and Lagoa de Freitas, have failed to meet Brazilian water quality standards and would be classed under WHO guidelines as poor or very poor.

Occasionally, a canoeist may fall into the water as the boats are quite narrow. However, the competitor is usually hauled out by a rescue boat within a minute or two, according to Oldershaw.

Watch below: Potential future water sport Olympians weigh in on Rio water

"If that was the situation, you would want to take some extra precautions, probably get cleaned up and take some steps from there. As far as I know, there is no standing plan for active body decontamination."

Meanwhile, U.S. Olympic rowers were given new, high-tech training suits knitted with anti-microbial features designed to protect them against infection during the games. Oldershaw says he is not aware of any of the Canadian athletes wearing similar technology.

"It can't hurt, every little bit is going to help, but all of your most vulnerable parts like hands and mouth are exposed anyway."

It seems the consensus among 2016 Olympic competitors is water conditions would have to be quite severe to throw away their shot of winning a gold medal.

"This is something they have been training their whole life for... If this is your whole focus for the past however many years, it's hard to see from an outsider's perspective why they are doing this, why they are taking that risk, but it is the Olympics and it is such a prestigious event," says Burloak Canoe Club U19 member Jillian Perrone.

Would Oldershaw skip the games due to poor water conditions?

"If I was an athlete I would be there for sure. I may take a little extra precaution in making sure we get cleaned up afterwards, but I would be there in a heartbeat."

SOURCE: WHO 

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