After Monday’s and Tuesday’s training sessions in the Seine in preparation for the triathlon races were cancelled due to high bacteria levels, World Triathlon announced that the men’s triathlon at the Paris Olympics has officially been postponed due to water quality levels that would put the health of participating athletes at risk.
— World Triathlon (@worldtriathlon) July 30, 2024
The event, originally scheduled for Tuesday, has been delayed until Wednesday following the women’s triathlon. Similar to the ‘presidential plunge’ that was delayed for the same reason in June, the city of Paris has expressed confidence that the predicted good weather will lower the levels of E.coli bacteria (indicative of fecal matter) enough in the next 24 hours that the event can be held safely, despite the media’s skepticism.
It’s been illegal to swim in the Seine for more than a century due to the high bacteria levels. Less than two weeks ago, Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo swam in the Seine along with numerous other Olympic officials, declaring it clean enough for the water events to move forward as planned. Now, the city has to face the reality that their $1.5 billion project toward making the river safe for swimming may have failed.
The spike in contamination since Hidalgo’s swim has been attributed to the heavy rains during the opening ceremonies of the Games, which overwhelmed Paris’s sewage system, increasing pollution levels in the river.
In the case that testing still shows poor water quality on Wednesday, the races will likely be rescheduled to Friday. Unfortunately, the weather forecast calls for a rainy next few days in Paris, further complicating the situation. If worst comes to worst, the triathlon will be switched to a duathlon (run/bike/run) to avoid the open-water swim altogether.
