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Port Elizabeth paralympian Kevin Paul says he was extremely excited to swim in front of his home crowd at the SA Senior Nationals and World Championships at the Newton Park Indoor Swimming Centre.
But, his excitement soon turned to frustration and dissapointment after a burst pipe resulted in murky water in the pool and the event being postponed twice.
Paul spoke to Algoa FM News on Wednesday about his frustration, saying the swimmers have mixed emotions about the event.
"I think there is quite a mixed feeling at the moment. Some swimmers are quite cross about it. It is a very touchy topic, because so many swimmers spent so many months training for this event and then to get here and to not be able to swim. I mean so many people have come from all over the country, expenses and stuff like that. It is not a great situation and now with all the chlorine in the water it is a problem. The swimmers are not happy, we are here to swim and we want to swim" he said.
Paul swam on Monday and managed to become the first International Paralympic Commission athlete to qualify for the 400m freestyle. Olympic gold medalist Cameron van den Burg was also lucky to qualify on Monday and has reportedly left for Johannesburg.
Meanwhile, EP swimming officials said Wednesday that the water was still green with a high chlorine content making the pool unsuitable for swimming.
Problems began on Sunday when a water pump burst and South Africa's top swimmers had to swim in a green pool on Monday.
Algoa FM News understands that there was a new problem with the water pipe serving the main feeder to the pool on Wednesday morning leading to water being cut-off to the toilets at the Newton Park Swimming Pool.
Paul says as a PE local he became the butt of jokes from fellow swimmers.
""Everyone is trying to point fingers and blame someone but it is something that can happen to any pool around the country with a pipe bursting like this , obviously me being a local here a lot of people from around the country have a lot to say. The come to me and say "Kevin what is wrong with your pool?" honestly I cant speak about what went wrong, we just hope it will get sorted by Thursday evening" he said.
Democratic Alliance councillor, Andew Whittfield, says the situation is unfortunate and an embarrassment for the Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality.
Whitfield blamed a lack of maintenance for the situation.
