I am participating in a sprint triathlon at Disney Fort Wilderness Resort at Bay Lake in Orlando FL. The swim is taking place in a man-made, stagnant water lake with water temps in the mid 80s. I am concerned about dangerous amoeba bacteria in the lake, as some participants have been given the option to skip the swim portion because of the health risks. (The bacteria causes death when inhaled through the nose). Orlando lakes are particulary succeptible to large amoeba concentrations. Is it safe to do the swim portion in this triathlon?! Thank you.

Laura from Florida

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Hi Laura,
Thank you for contacting TriathaNewbie.com!

We are not scientists or health professionals, but we can give you our personal opinion. From here you can make the best decision for you.

We think that if Disney is running a triathlon, they would try and keep their Disney image and not put a couple of hundred people at risk of death.
You should consider simply calling the event coordinators and voicing your concern. If you have this concern, we're sure that many others have called with the same question.

That said, if you are still 100% not comfortable swimming in the body of water and they are allowing people to skip the swim, you should skip the swim. There's no reason to be completely stressed. They're supposed to be fun.

If it's not too late, you might also want to see if they'll refund your money so you can pick another triathlon altogether. They may not, but it would be nice to swim, bike and run if you've been training to swim, bike and run for the last 6-9 months.

Let us know how it goes!
Be well,
~Julie

TriathaNewbie.com Staff Member

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