LUCERNE, SWITZERLAND – MAY 27: (R-L) Peter Graves, John Graves, Benjamin Dann and Benjamin Davison of the United States of America compete in the Men’s Quadruple Sculls heats during day 1 of the 2016 World Rowing Cup II at Rotsee on May 27, 2016 in Lucerne, Switzerland. (Photo by Philipp Schmidli/Getty Images)

After reports surfaced showing the beaches and waterways in Rio to be contaminated with “super bacteria,” the U.S. rowing team is making some adjustments to accommodate the murky water.

The team will unveil new antimicrobial training suits on Monday that it will wear at the 2016 Olympics in Rio. The suits will help the rowers avoid coming in contact with the contaminated water and will also keep the athletes cool and dry.

The practice suits have been made by Boathouse Sports, an apparel company based out of Philadelphia. Boathouse Sports has previously designed the rowers’ competition uniforms and will do so again for this year’s Games. The practice suits will be just one piece and feel like “a second skin,” according to the company.

Though the suits are intended for warmups, the U.S. has the option of wearing the suits during competition. But according to Olympics rules, all members of the team must wear the suit for it to be OK for competition.

The U.S. will likely not be the only team to adjust its equipment to combat the contamination in Brazil. Besides the water, athletes heading down to Brazil in August will have to face possible interactions with the Zika virus and an unstable Brazilian government.

[AP]

About Ryan Williamson

Ryan is a recent graduate of the University of Missouri and has recently returned to his Minnesota roots. He previously has worked for the Columbia Missourian, KFAN radio in Minneapolis and BringMeTheNews.com. Feel free to email me at rwilliamson29 AT Gmail dot com.