PARIS– The men’s Olympic triathlon planned for Tuesday has been postponed water quality concerns on the River Seine in Paris, where the swimming portion of the race was supposed to take place.
Organizers said they will attempt to hold the men’s triathlon on Wednesday. The women’s competition is also scheduled for Wednesday, but both will be subject to water tests. The risk of storms in the forecast for Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday nights could complicate the rescheduling of events.
Heavy rain often causes levels of E. coli and other bacteria in the Seine to rise. Paris suffered torrential rain during the Olympic opening ceremony Friday, with rain continuing until Saturday. The swimming portion of the training events designed to allow triathletes to familiarize themselves with the course was canceled on Sunday and Monday due to water quality concerns.
The decision to postpone the men’s triathlon followed a meeting on Tuesday morning that included the sport’s governing body, World Triathlon, its medical team and city officials.
The event is now scheduled to begin at 10:45 a.m., which could make heat a factor. Wednesday’s high temperature is forecast at 95 F (35 C), and the event could end in the hottest part of the day.
Organizers and city authorities expressed confidence that bacteria levels would improve as skies cleared and temperatures rose in the following days, but this was apparently not enough to ensure the athletes’ safety.
Paris has made a huge effort to improve water quality in the long-polluted Seine so that the swimming portion of the triathlon and the marathon swim in August could be held in the famous river that runs through the city center. But bacteria levels remained in flux.
Daily water quality tests measure levels of fecal bacteria known as E. coli, with a safe limit of 900 colony-forming units per 100 milliliters, determined by European rules. Monitoring group Water of Paris releases data every Friday, but it is only updated up to the previous Tuesday.
High levels of E. coli in water may indicate sewage contamination. Most strains are harmless and some live in the intestines of healthy people and animals. But others can be dangerous. Even a sip of contaminated water can cause diarrhea, and the germ can cause illnesses such as urinary tract or intestinal infections.
Efforts to make the river suitable for swimming cost 1.4 billion euros ($1.5 billion). They include the 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 very publicly took a dive on the river two weeks ago, along with Paris 2024 boss Tony Estanguet and the Paris region’s top government official Marc Guillaume, along with swimmers from local swimming clubs. Data released last week shows that E. coli levels in Bras Marie were at 985 units per 100 milliliters that day, slightly above the established limit.
Other swimming events planned in the Seine are the mixed triathlon relay on August 5th and the women’s and men’s marathon swimming events on August 8th and 9th.
AP Health Writer Devna Bose contributed from Jackson, Mississippi.
___
This story originally appeared on ABCNews.go.com read the full story
