Sports director of the German canoe federation Jens Kahl, expressed his concern about the Olympic race course. Foto (2013): Bernd Settnik

Westfalische Nachrichten | Translated by Ulla Fischer - Since several weeks, many athletes are in great concern about the water quality of the Olympic race course in Rio. It was mainly water plants that troubled the athletes during the test race this past weekend. The judgment:”Not fit for Olympia!“

Rio de Janeiro (dpa) – The German canoe federation expressed concern about the Olympic Games in the upcoming year. During test races in Rio de Janeiro the race course was declared as “unfit for Olympia” by Germany’s canoe sports director Jens Kahl.

With one victory and five ranks amongst the top three, the German team showed an overall good performance.

„They were not able to solve the water plant problem“ said Kahl. The terrain is narrow and the race course susceptible to wind, even though that has not been too much of an issue this time around.”It will be difficult to create fair and equal conditions for everyone” Kahl added. He argues that the Olympic Games should not become a “Lottery”. „We can only hope the ICF will take care of the situation“ said Kahl.

Several weeks ago, news about the bad water quality off shore from Rio de Janeiro made the rounds, which caused concern and put focus on the Olympic Games. While world champion Sebastian Brendel rated the general condition of the race course and the water quality as good, Franziska Weber said the water is awkwardly “red and brown”. 

Prior to the test races, it was stated that there were no problems with the water quality said Jens Kahl. However, he claims, that the German team was not the only one experiencing stomach problems.

Ronald Rauhe and Tom Liebscher used the opportunity at the Olympic race course  Lagoa Rodrigo de Freitas to redeem their unsatisfying world cup final in Milan by winning the 200m distance in the K2. The outcomes, however, were not the main focus, but to test the Olympic race course.

„The Olympic Games are the most important races for an athlete and therefore, we should have the best external preconditions possible” demands K1- racer Hoff. Swirls and salt water display another challenge for the German athletes which are used to European water conditions.