Triathlon cancels Olympic swimming training for second day due to poor water quality in the Seine

PARIS– Concerns about the water quality in the River Seine led authorities to cancel the swimming portion of an Olympic triathlon training session for the second day in a row on Monday.

The organizers overseeing the event at the Paris Games are optimistic that triathletes will be able to swim on the city’s famous canal when the competition begins on Tuesday.

The sport’s governing body, World Triathlon, its medical team and city authorities are banking on sunny weather and warmer temperatures to reduce bacteria levels below the thresholds needed to run the swimming portion of the race, which also includes cycling and race.

World Triathlon made the decision to cancel swimming training on Monday morning following a meeting about water quality in the Seine, which is closely linked to the weather. Rain flooded Friday’s opening ceremony and the rains persisted on Saturday, forcing the cancellation of some tennis matches and the skateboarding competition.

Representatives from Paris 2024 and the international triathlon federation said tests carried out in the Seine on Sunday showed water quality levels before the training session that “did not provide sufficient guarantees to allow the event to take place”. The delegation blamed the recent rain.

French sports minister Amélie Oudéa-Castéra told French news channel CNEWS on Monday that authorities are “absolutely calm about all this.” The plans they put in place to control bacteria levels in the river have been effective, but the climate is out of their control, she said.

Recent rains have contributed to concerns about water quality, but she said she believed things would improve.

“I’m confident we can be there tomorrow for the men’s triathlon race,” she said.

Organizers say the alternative plan is to postpone the events and, if high levels of bacteria persist, the swimming portion of the event will be abandoned and athletes will compete in a duathlon.

Swimming in the Seine was banned more than a century ago, largely due to poor water quality. Organizers invested 1.4 billion euros ($1.5 billion) to prepare the river before the Olympic Games.

In addition to the swimming part of the men’s triathlon on Tuesday, the women’s triathlon on Wednesday and the mixed triathlon relay on Monday, the Sena is expected to be used for marathon swimming competitions on August 8th and 9th.

Daily water quality tests in early June indicated unsafe levels of E. coli bacteria, followed by recent improvements. Some of the measures implemented to improve water quality include construction of a giant basin capture excess rainwater and prevent wastewater from flowing into the river by renewing sewage infrastructure and modernizing wastewater treatment plants.

Mayor of Paris, Anne Hidalgo took a very public dip in the river about two weeks before the start of Olympic events, hoping to alleviate fears over long-polluted waterway be clean enough to host swimming competitions.

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