Hours before the scheduled start of the Olympic men’s triathlon, it was announced that the event would be postponed. Last-minute water quality tests in the River Seine indicated elevated pollution levels, prompting organizers to take action.
This decision dealt a blow to Olympic officials who had previously assured that the Seine would be safe for athletes to swim in. The men’s triathlon was rescheduled to take place 24 hours later, immediately following the women’s race on Wednesday.
A joint statement from Paris 2024 and World Triathlon attributed the excessive pollution to heavy rainfall that hit the French capital on Friday and Saturday.
“Paris 2024 and World Triathlon emphasize that the health of the athletes is their top priority,” the statement read following a meeting held at 3:30 am local time (0130 GMT).
“The water quality tests conducted in the Seine today indicated levels that did not meet the necessary standards for the event to proceed.
“Unfortunately, unpredictable weather events beyond our control … can impact water quality and necessitate rescheduling the event for health reasons.”
Training sessions in the Seine scheduled for Sunday and Monday were already canceled by organizers due to unsafe pollution levels resulting from the previous week’s heavy rain.
Despite this, they had been optimistic that the pollution levels would decrease in time for Tuesday’s race, given the favorable weather conditions in Paris, which help in reducing bacteria levels.
French authorities have invested 1.4 billion euros ($1.5 billion) in the past decade to improve the cleanliness of the Seine, including significant upgrades to water treatment and storage facilities in and around Paris.
However, intense rains continue to overwhelm the city’s underground drainage and sewage systems, leading to untreated sewage being discharged into the river.
Following an unusually wet spring and early summer, the Seine had consistently failed water quality tests until the start of July, posing a major challenge for Paris 2024 organizers.
Levels of E.Coli bacteria, an indicator of fecal matter, were at times found to be ten times higher than the permitted limits.
The triathlon was set to be the first Olympic event held in the river, preceding the marathon swimming event in the second week of the Games.
AFP