'It's an oil slick of excrement': Vile video shows raw sewage floating in the ... trends now
At least two London rowing clubs have been forced to cancel training sessions in the leadup to Henley, after videos emerged showing massive pools of human excrement floating on the Thames.
Sources from Furnivall Sculling Club and Vesta Rowing Club, two long-established institutions in west London, confirmed that training sessions were cancelled because of the poor water quality in the area, which is controlled and monitored by Thames Water.
Videos, shared with MailOnline, showed the massive slick of waste pooling on the Thames on Putney Embankment, just downriver from Fulham Football Club's Craven Cottage, on Thursday morning.
A MailOnline analysis of Thames Water data shows the areas that Vesta and Furnivall train in saw more than 70 hours of sewage leaked directly into the Thames since the beginning of the year.
Vesta's safety officer told all of the club's rowers via text that 'given the conditions [on Thursday] with the sewage, all scheduled training sessions, including those for Henley, were cancelled.
The officer also recommended 'non-squad or single scullers avoid going out for the next 24 hours'. It is understood to be the first time the club has had to do this in 2024.
Videos, shared with MailOnline, showed the massive slick of waste pooling on the Thames on Putney Embankment
The videos were taken just downriver from Fulham Football Club's Craven Cottage, on Thursday morning
Spectators watch a race on the River Thames at the Henley Royal Regatta
An aerial view of the Henley Regatta on June 30,2022 in Henley
Furnivall's captain Evelyn Tichy told MailOnline her team also cancelled their training sessions on Friday for the first time this year, and that they may have to cancel more if water quality continues to deteriorate.
Tichy, a microbiologist by training, said of the sewage on the Tideway, the strip of the Thames her club trains: 'It looks a bit like oil slicks of excrement on the Thames.
'I personally have rowed on the Tideway for about 10 years, and I have never seen it this bad.'
Tichy said that her club, which typically trains on the water four times a week, and rows up to six times a week in the leadup to major competitions, has seen a massive rise in infections.
‘At least ten members of the club in the last six months have been out for a week or more because of infection, and that's not a normal number for us. A normal number is one in the same period.'
The captain said that the high rates of infection are hampering her club's ability to train for Henley. The women's regatta is set to take place in just seven weeks, while the men's regatta is set to take place in just two months.
'It has a massive detrimental effect on [our] competitiveness. If you have a high proportion of your top rowers, or even just two or three on your top boats, out because they're not able to train because they’re ill, or if you're not able to get on
