Erasmus Shalihaxwe
The World Aquatics Championships in Singapore has postponed the event yesterday, after extreme heat pushed temperatures to 31 degrees Celsius
The organisers said the event will proceed once the water temperature has dropped to acceptable levels under World Aquatics regulations.
Namibia Aquatic Sports Federation president Riaan Steyn said the hot weather negatively affected Namibian swimmer Nico Esslinger, who finished 47th in the 10 km open water event with a time of 11 minutes and 57.90 seconds.
“The race was postponed until water quality became better. During this morning’s testing there was a significant improvement in water quality and the race was sanctioned. Nico Esslinger thus raced this morning at 7:00 our time and completed his race in 47th position, 11 minutes 57.90 seconds after the gold medallist Florian Wellbrock of Germany,” said Steyn.
He said the race conditions were difficult, with the water temperature reaching 30 degrees Celsius—just below the maximum limit allowed.
Nico Esslinger was the third African to finish, following South Africa’s Ruan Breytenbach in 24th place and Connor Buck in 36th.
Several other athletes failed to complete the race due to the heat.
“This is a remarkable achievement for Nico, being only 19 years old (Florian is 27 years old) and competing against the best 10 km swimmers in the world, with both Olympic silver medallist Oliver Klemet of Germany in the fourth position and bronze medallist David Betlehem of Hungary in the ninth position being in the lineup. Nico is currently based in Antibes, France, on a World Aquatics Scholarship,” Steyn added.
World Aquatics, the Singapore 2025 Organising Committee, the World Aquatics Sports Medicine Committee, and the Open Water Swimming Technical Committee said they will continue monitoring water conditions throughout the championships to ensure athlete safety.
“On behalf of World Aquatics and the Singapore 2025 Organising Committee, we thank all the athletes, officials, and supporters for your patience and continued cooperation,” the organisers said.
