SYDNEY, Austrailia — Sydney officials issued a shark alert on Monday after recent shark sightings in Sydney Harbor. The sightings have raised concerns among Olympic officials for the safety of water-borne Olympians during this September Olympic Regatta. While concern is primarily centered on the swimming leg of the triathalon, a six-foot shark rammed a boat of schoolboy rowers last Friday near the Olympic site and bit a rower?s oar the day before?clamping down and shaking the oar before swimming off. No one was injured in the attack, but the incident is raising concerns that the animals could interfere with other water events in the Games. Last week an elderly man swimming off a harbor-side beach was bitten as well.
Experts suspect tropical bull sharks in these recent incidents, and harbor officials were considering calling in professional shark hunters. Now is the biggest time of year for shark warnings as the warm water brings schools of fish into the harbor. Potential Olympic game precautions could include inflatable boats with outboards buzzing near the swimmers and other boating events, as sharks tend to avoid the electrical fields generated by outboard motors. Marine experts play down the risk to Olympians, stating the sharks should be gone by September.