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The Triathlon will be a big test for Paris authorities who have promised residents the swimmable Seine as a long-term legacy of the Paris Olympics. read more
 "Paris Olympics 2024 Seine river passes test, triathlon races to go ahead on Wednesday")
Wednesday's races on Seine river were given the green light despite rain overnight and forecasts on Wednesday. Reuters
Triathlon events will finally take place in the Seine River, the organisers confirmed on Wednesday after the latest water tests showed lower levels of bacteria. The men’s triathlon was to take place on Tuesday but was postponed to Wednesday after the Seine River failed quality tests.
The races will take place on Wednesday. This has come as a big relief for the organisers and the athletes but it will also be a big test for Paris authorities who have promised residents the swimmable Seine as a long-term legacy of the Games, with the triathlon a very public test.
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“It is with great joy that we received this news,” Benjamin Maze, technical director for France’s triathlon federation, told Reuters. “Now that we know we will race, we can mentally switch fully into competition mode.”
Fifty-five women representing 34 countries will kick off the contest at 8 a.m. (0600 GMT), with France’s Cassandre Beaugrand and Britain’s Beth Potter, two of the top contenders for gold, set to dive into the river side by side.
The men’s event will take place at 10:45 a.m., immediately after the women’s race.
“The results of the latest water analyses, received at 3.20 a.m., have been assessed as compliant by World Triathlon allowing for the triathlon competitions to take place,” Paris 2024 and World Triathlon said in a statement.
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Paris has spent 1.4 billion euros ($1.52 billion) of public money on wastewater infrastructure to contain sewage and minimise spillage into the river, and Mayor Anne Hidalgo took a dip earlier this month in a bid to convince doubters that the water will not make them ill.
The decision to postpone the men’s race at the last minute on Tuesday had triggered anger among some athletes.
“If the priority was the health of the athletes this event would have been moved to another location a long time ago,” Belgium’s Marten Van Riel wrote on World Triathlon’s Instagram page.
“We are just puppets in a puppet show.”
The gamble that the river would be clean enough for the triathlon was never guaranteed to pay off as water quality varies widely day-to-day, with rainfall causing concentrations of infection-causing bacteria like E. coli to rise.
Wednesday’s races were given the green light despite rain overnight and forecasts for showers around midday which could hit towards the end of the men’s event.
Organisers make the call based on analysis of river samples taken the previous day at 5 a.m. combined with a discussion between experts on overnight weather, according to Paris 2024.
With Reuters inputs
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English (US) ·