The rumors that have been floating around the marathon swimming world for the past week are unfortunately true: the Great Channel Swim, scheduled to showcase the world's best marathon swimmers racing across the English Channel, has been cancelled.Because the French authorities have concerns regarding the amount of potential additional traffic in the English Channel were raised, the French Coast Guard did not provide its support to stage the highly anticipated event.
Colin Hill, the Great Channel Swim race director, said, "After many months of planning, we are disappointed at this late stage to have encountered objections from the French authorities, leaving us with no alternative but to reluctantly cancel the event."
4 comments:
What a huge dissapointment for such an event to be cancelled. I was overjoyed to get my place in one of the relay teams and take part in something unique now I guess I never will.
Yes, we sympathize with you. Most of the elite athletes were traveling from distant locations and are similarly disappointed as family and friends had booked flights and made travel plans. We know the organizers and pilots had really worked hard to get the race underway. What could have been the most iconic endurance race of 2009 will have to wait for another time.
That is too bad. I was really looking forward to this race. Hopefully they can make this happen in the future.
To be honest, this is very typical French behaviour.
Most of you might disagree, but with such a high profile event, how can it be that the French cannot 'jump the hurdles' to make this happen.
It seems that it is too much of an inconvenience for them. Perhaps it's because there are no high profile French swimmers or that the French o/w swim community has not stepped forward to make this happen.
What's going on ? An explanation is in order from somebody. This was meant to be the big event of the year.
Does that mean an event like this will never happen beacuase the French can't be bothered to pull it together.
They had the resources to bomb the Greenpeace 'Rainbow Warrior' so what the big deal now ?
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