NYC Ironman Athletes Might Really Have to Swim Through Sh*t

An athlete in much cleaner waters at Kurrawa Beach in Australia.

A sewer line break in Westchester Thursday caused a massive sewage discharge into the Hudson River, jeopardizing the swim leg of New York City's inaugural Ironman triathlon scheduled Saturday. “We’re not messing with water quality,” race organizer John Korff told Businessweek. “It is what it is — it’s either yes or no. It depends which way the water is flowing." But Thursday evening health officials said the Hudson River was likely "clean enough" following the sewage dump in Sleepy Hollow, about 20 miles north of the finish line for the 2.4 mile swim in the Hudson. Whatever unsanitary, possibly diseased things in the sewage have been chlorinated, "but it's still sewage, so we don't want anyone having direct contact," said county Health Department spokesman Heather McGill. Remarked 29-year-old (possible) participant Chris McCallum: “I was concerned enough about the water quality of the Hudson already."

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Delayed Bike-Share Program Needs Money, Might Not Launch Until Spring

The local Citi Bike program once planned to launch 1,000 of its 10,000 rentals today, but a software problem has kept them off the street entirely. Instead, the company behind the program, Alta, has asked initial sponsor Citibank for $3.5 million of the $41 million promised on an accelerated timetable, even if their goals aren't met, the New York Post reports. And if the hold-up lasts longer, the whole thing may have to wait until next year: "No one wants to do this in November," said an anonymous insider. "You'd be looking at spring [2013]."

"That is inaccurate," said a Department of Transportation spokesperson, failing to offer much reassurance for eager renters. "While we can’t get into details, we are working on a plan to launch the system."

The organization Transportation Alternatives is hosting a party "celebrating the launch of Citi Bike" on August 23, leading some to get excited about a late-summer takeoff, but the group confirmed to Daily Intel that the party was planned before the delay: "We don't know when the bike share program will launch." So everyone is the dark, but only Citibank is paying.

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