Unhygienic Sabarmati water forces triathlon to relocate to an indoor pool

Triathletes competing in the 36th National Games were to swim 750 meters in open water in the Sabarmati River, bike 20 kilometers, and run 5 kilometers. Instead, they will swim in an Olympic-size pool (50 meters in length) at the Indian Institute of Technology, Gandhinagar. The reason is the green-colored water of the Sabarmati river, which organizers describe as unhygienic and infectious, potentially infecting swimmers.Amdavad Municipal Corporation officials had conducted numerous tests to check the quality of the Sabarmati water since July when the Indian Olympic Association (IOA) announced Gujarat as the host of the National Games. According to triathlon competition manager Harish Prasad, the water quality test is done on a regular basis, with a final test about a fortnight before the event. The riverfront in Ahmedabad has emerged as an ideal location for the triathlon because it has a perfect promenade to transition from one segment of the race to the next and is close to roads that can be used for cycling and running.Porbandar, which hosted a triathlon national championship in 2007, was named an alternate. However, holding the races in that location would have presented the organizers with the logistical challenge of accommodating hundreds of people in such a small city. It would also have meant increasing the number of cities from six to seven, which would have been another hurdle.However, the city administration relaid the roughly 5 km stretch within 10 days. With everyone’s help, we were able to get everything in place in a short period of time, including the relaying of the road just outside the campus for the cycling race, Prasad explained.