The men’s triathlon at the Paris Olympics will not go ahead on schedule with pollution levels in the River Seine too high, World Triathlon said in a statement.
The men’s triathlon event was scheduled from Tuesday afternoon at 4pm AEST to Wednesday night, after the women’s event.
It’s a serious embarrassment to organisers who were confident water quality would improve in time for the race after heavy rains last Friday and Saturday dirtied the river.
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Paris spent a reported $2.47 billion cleaning up the river as a one of the key legacy aspects of this year’s Olympics. Three public swimming areas were set to be opened to the public after the games.
Paris spent $1.5 billion to clean up the Seine River for the Olympics.
However, excess rain this past weekend swept millions of gallons of sewage into the river, and triathlon swim training has been canceled for the second day in a row due to E. coli levels.
What a *shit* show. pic.twitter.com/XJewu8829C
— Joe Pompliano (@JoePompliano) July 29, 2024
The French news agency AFP reported this week that rain on Friday and Saturday “led to discharges of raw sewage”.
The 55 triathletes who were primed to compete on Tuesday now face more uncertainty.
“Despite the improvement of water quality levels over the last hours, the readings at some points of the swim course are still above the acceptable limits,” organisers said.
“Unfortunately, meteorological events beyond our control, such as the rain which fell over Paris on 26 and 27 July, can alter water quality and compel us to reschedule the event for health reasons.”
Both men’s and women’s events remain subject to successful water tests which need to comply with established World Triathlon thresholds for swimming.
If levels of bacteria remain too high by Wednesday morning, both the men’s and women’s races are likely to be postponed to Friday, the contingency day reserved for the events.
The mixed triathlon relay event could be postponed to the following day, as part of contingency plans.
If by Friday the water quality is still not good enough the swim leg will be scrapped and athletes will compete in a duathlon instead.
Rain significantly increases concentrations of infection-causing bacteria like E. coli and enterococci.
Seth Rider, one of 55 triathletes entered in the men’s race, has told reporters he took unconventional measures to prepare for exposure to bacteria.
“We know that there’s going to be some E. coli exposure, so I just try to increase my E. coli threshold by exposing myself to a bit of E. coli in your day-to-day life,” the US athlete said in a press conference on Saturday.
The Olympic triathlon course was conceived to maximise the wow factor, with the river swim a key element.
Paris authorities have promised to make the Seine swimmable as a key legacy of the Games, and spent 1.4 billion euros ($2.3 billion) on wastewater infrastructure to contain sewage and minimise spillage into the waterway.
Paris Mayor, Anne Hidalgo, took a dip in the river herself earlier this month, in a bid to convince doubters.
The gamble that the river would be clean enough for the triathlon was never guaranteed to pay off, especially as water quality varies widely day-to-day.
The issue was foreseen by many.
An employee from the city’s environmental department told The Sun that the river was filthy.
“It’s insane that the IOC and the organisation of the Olympics had that idea, and are now pushing to have the opening ceremony and some competitions in the Seine,” the employee said.
“The water is very bad, it’s full of dirt and not proper for any activity.
“Also, the levels of chemicals, human faeces, and other dirty things are very high, so bacteria like E. coli are everywhere.”
The Sun also reported an anonymous member of the Olympic organising committee, who called the decision to hold events in the Seine “horrible”.
“Doing the opening ceremony and some competitions in the Seine River is by far the most stupid and irresponsible idea from the government, the IOC, and the Paris city hall,” the Olympic organiser said.
“We all know that this water is filthy, disgusting, whatever bad word you want to use.”