The men’s and women’s 10km open water swimming events at the World Aquatics Championships will finally get under way on Wednesday after multiple delays owing to unacceptable levels of E coli bacteria in Singapore’s seas.

Initially scheduled for Tuesday, the women’s 10km was called off hours before the expected start after water samples drawn at the race site off Sentosa island, on the southern coast of the city state, showed “exceeding levels” of the Escherichia coli (E coli) bacteria.

The race was then moved to Wednesday morning, hours after the scheduled start of the men’s race, but both were delayed again late on Tuesday after the water quality levels exceeded the “acceptable thresholds outlined in the World Aquatics competition regulation”.

On Wednesday, World Aquatics and the Singapore 2025 Organising Committee said races could proceed at 1pm for the men’s 10km race and 4pm for the women’s.

Water samples showed a significant improvement, organisers said, with levels of E coli falling between the ranges of “good” to “excellent” according to World Aquatics and the World Health Organization (WHO) regulations.

They added that the regular water quality monitoring and testing would continue throughout the competition period.

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Commissioner Rob Manfred said Tuesday that Major League Baseball is “trying to iron through (the) logistics” that would allow MLB players to participate in the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics. MLB officials met with Olympic representatives earlier this week and both the league and players have interest in Olympic participation.

Here’s what Manfred said about the 2028 Olympics on Tuesday (via MLB.com):

“I think that the idea of playing in L.A. in ’28, regardless of the merits of the possibility of ongoing Olympic participation in another location, that there’s some merit to it,” Manfred said Tuesday during a Q&A session with the Baseball Writers’ Association of America. “I think it is an opportunity to market the game on a really global stage.”

Tony Clark, director of the Major League Baseball Players Association, similarly said his team is trying to work out a plan.

“We do know players are interested in playing, whether it’s for Team USA or for any number of other teams around the world,” he said. “We’ve got the WBC, which players are telling us they’re interested in playing in, as well. There’s just a lot of conversation that needs to be had sooner rather than later to see how viable this is, but we’re hopeful that we can figure out a way to do it.”

Currently, only amateurs and professional players not on the 40-man roster are allowed to participate in the Olympics. Team USA’s roster in 2020 featured minor-league journeymen, a few top prospects, and several unsigned free agent veterans. Japan’s Nippon Professional Baseball and the Korea Baseball Organization halted their regular seasons so professionals could play in the 2020 Olympics, during which Japan beat USA in the gold medal game.

The schedule and insurance would likely be the biggest logistical issue. The 2028 schedule, released Monday, set games for July 15-20 at Dodger Stadium, which would likely fall around the All-Star break but stretch longer than the typical Midsummer Classic.

The NHL has paused its season for the Olympics in the past and their players will participate in the 2026 Olympics for the first time since 2014. The hiatus was related to insurance, among other things. The NHL wanted the International Olympic Committee to cover the salary of any injured players, the IOC refused, so on and so forth. MLB may also have to work through similar insurance issues.

“There’s nothing more worldwide than the Olympics,” Phillies star Bryce Harper said about the Olympics last year. “I watch the most random sports in the Olympics because it’s the Olympics, and that’s really cool. I love hockey. It’s one of my favorite sports to watch. To see (the NHL) take that three-week break and let those guys go play, that’s another big goal that we should have as Major League Baseball.”  

Baseball was a full-time Olympic sport from 1992-2008. Cuba has won three gold medals (1992, 1996, 2004) and South Korea (2008), Japan (2020), and USA (2000) have one gold medal apiece. As a minor leaguer, former Milwaukee Brewers ace Ben Sheets threw a complete game shutout against heavily favored Cuba in the 2000 gold medal game.

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GRAND FORKS, N.D. — The University of North Dakota Department of Athletics mourns the loss of former administrator Dr. Helen Smiley, who passed away on Friday, July 11. 

Smiley started at UND in 1971 and served as an associate athletic director and an assistant professor in the health, physical education and recreation department until 1985. She also served as the interim athletic director in 1984, becoming the first woman to hold that title at North Dakota, and was instrumental in the development of women’s athletics at UND. 

Dr. Smiley’s career extended far-and-wide, with leadership roles at the University of Iowa and Western Illinois. Her work earned national recognitions, including being named NACDA Athletic Director of the Year in 2000 and having the Summit League Women’s All-Sports Award named in her honor.

She has been inducted into the the North Central Conference Hall of Fame, the UND Athletics Hall of Fame, the WIU Athletics Hall of Fame and the Summit League Hall of Fame during her storied career. 

For more information on North Dakota Athletics, follow on social media @UNDsports or visit FightingHawks.com.