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

PARIS– The quality of water in the River Seine remained a concern on Monday when authorities canceled the swimming portion of an Olympic triathlon training session for the second day in a row.

Event organizers overseeing the event at the Paris Games are optimistic that triathletes will be able to swim in the city’s famous canal when the competition begins on Tuesday. The sport’s governing body, World Triathlon, and its medical team, along with city authorities, are banking on sunny weather and warmer temperatures over the next 36 hours to improve water quality and bring it below required limits. for completing the swimming portion of a race that also includes cycling and running.

World Triathlon made the decision to cancel swim training on Monday morning following a water quality meeting. 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 said this was due to the recent rain that impacted Friday’s opening ceremony.

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 triathlon swimming port on Tuesday and Wednesday, the Seine will 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.

Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo famously took a dip in the river less than two weeks before the start of Olympic events, making good on a promise to show that the long-polluted canal was clean enough to host swimming competitions.

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Associated Press writer Kate Brumback contributed to this report.

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