You can also listen to the article in audio version.
The men’s Olympic triathlon scheduled for Tuesday has been postponed. This happened due to concerns about the quality of the water in the Seine river in Paris, where the swimming part of the race was supposed to take place. The tests showed that the water quality did not reach acceptable standards, the agency reported AP.
“Due to the latest weather information, it has been decided that the men’s triathlon will take place on July 31st at 10:45am. The women’s triathlon should take place on the same day at eight o’clock,” the organizers said in a statement.
Olympics 2024 in Paris
An alternative date is possibly planned for Friday – a standby day reserved for exceptional events. If everything is not in order on Friday, the athletes will only compete in the duathlon. Open water swimming events can be moved to Vaires-sur-Marne on the River Marne east of Paris if necessary.
Heavy rains generally cause E. coli and other bacteria levels to rise in the Seine. Paris experienced a downpour during Friday’s Olympic opening ceremony, and the rain continued on Saturday. The swimming part of the training sessions, which was supposed to allow the triathletes to familiarize themselves with the course, was canceled on Sunday and Monday.
Efforts to clean up the Seine had been underway for some time before the Olympics. The work included improvements to the city’s sewer network and the construction of a 1.4 billion euro (36 billion crowns) catchment and treatment system to retain bacteria-laden rainwater during torrential downpours, which was commissioned a month ago.
