The first triathlon training session in the River Seine, scheduled for Sunday, has been cancelled due to pollution caused by heavy rains over the past few days, Le Parisien reported.
The decision to cancel the triathletes’ training session in the river came Saturday night into Sunday as Paris has experienced heavy rains over the past two days, causing the water in the Seine to be simply overly polluted, according to a joint statement issued by Paris 2024 organisers and the sport’s governing body, World Triathlon. It read:
The tests carried out in the Seine yesterday (Saturday) revealed water quality levels that in the view of the international federation, World Triathlon, did not provide sufficient guarantees to allow the event to be held. This is due to rain that has fallen on Paris on 26 and 27 July.
On Saturday afternoon, the organisers had already warned the flooding the day before, some 16 mm of water, was likely to worsen the quality of the water. On Sunday they did not specify the levels of E.Coli bacteria and enterococci, which must be below a certain threshold, but emphasised the priority of the health of the athletes.
The triathlon will start with the men’s individual events on Tuesday, followed by the women’s events on Wednesday and the mixed team relay the following Monday. Triathletes will have the opportunity to familiarise themselves with the river before swimming on the following days, even if some decide to continue training in the pool.
Owing to heavy rains for most of June, the water quality of the Seine was poor and bathing became impossible. On the other hand, water quality analyses have recently met sanitary standards six days a week, from 17 to 23 July. For instance, Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo had previously bathed in the Seine nine days before the start of the Olympics, confirming expectations for Parisians to be able to swim in the river next summer, but triathletes will not be able to try out the Seine on Sunday morning.
The organisers announced the running and cycling events in the Sunday morning training session would go ahead as planned, and assured participants and spectators that water quality would return below acceptable levels before the triathlon event on July 30.
Given the weather forecast for the next 48 hours, Paris 2024 and World Triathlon are confident that water quality will return to below limits before the start for of the triathlon competitions. As observed in July, with summer conditions (more sunshine, higher temperatures, prolonged absence of rain) water quality in the Seine has improved significantly, according to the organisers.
The Olympic organisers had invested €1.4 billion to build a huge reservoir under the Seine to hold storm water during heavy rains and storms. As of late July, testing continues to detect unsafe levels of bacteria, particularly E.Coli bacteria and enterococcus, in the water. If contaminant levels in the river continue to fluctuate, athletes could face health risks if officials decide the river is safe for swimming during a scheduled event.
