The men’s Olympic triathlon scheduled for Tuesday has been postponed over concerns about the water quality of the Seine River in Paris, where the race swim was due to take place.
Organizers said they would try to hold the men’s triathlon on Wednesday instead.
The women’s competition is also scheduled for Wednesday, but both events are subject to water quality testing, with Friday scheduled as a backup day.
But the French weather service Meteo-France has forecast a storm on Tuesday night, light rain on Wednesday afternoon and a storm on Thursday, which could complicate rescheduling the event.
Heavy rains often lead to elevated levels of E. coli and other bacteria in the Seine.
Heavy rain fell in Paris during the Olympic opening ceremony on Friday and continued into Saturday.
The swimming portion of the training event, which allows triathletes to become familiar with the course, was canceled both Sunday and Monday due to concerns about water quality.
The decision to postpone the men’s triathlon was made following a meeting early Tuesday involving the sport’s governing body, the World Triathlon Association, its medical team and city officials.
“Water quality levels have improved in recent hours but remain above acceptable levels at some points along the swim course,” organisers said in a statement announcing the postponement, stressing that “the well-being of the athletes remains our top priority.”
The men’s event is scheduled to start at 10:45 a.m., which could exacerbate the effects of the heat.
A high temperature of 95 degrees Fahrenheit is expected on Wednesday, potentially causing the event to finish during the hottest part of the day. The women’s race is scheduled to start at 8 a.m. Wednesday as originally scheduled.
Organizers and city officials expressed confidence that bacteria levels would improve as skies cleared and temperatures rose in the coming days, but apparently that wasn’t enough to ensure the safety of the athletes.
Paris has made great efforts to improve the quality of its long-polluted river, the famous waterway that runs through the city center, so that it can host the triathlon and marathon swimming events in August.
However, bacteria levels remain variable.
Daily water tests measure levels of a faecal bacteria called E. coli, and European regulations set a safety limit of 900 colony-forming units per 100 millilitres.
The monitoring group Hauts de Paris publishes its data every Friday, but only updates it up to the previous Tuesday.
High levels of E. coli in water may be a sign of sewage contamination. Most strains are harmless, but some live in the intestines of healthy humans and animals.
But some are dangerous: Even a single sip of contaminated water can cause diarrhea, and bacteria can lead to illnesses like urinary tract and intestinal infections.
The effort to make the river swimmable cost $1.5 billion.
These include building huge reservoirs to capture excess stormwater and prevent wastewater from flowing into rivers, upgrading sewer infrastructure and upgrading wastewater treatment plants.
Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo publicly swam in the river two weeks ago, along with Paris 2024 organising committee president Tony Estanguet, Paris region government official Marc Guillaume and swimmers from a local swimming club.
Data released last week showed Brass Marie’s E. coli concentration on that day was 985 units per 100 millilitres, just above the set limit.
Other swimming events scheduled on the Seine include the mixed triathlon relay on August 5th and the women’s and men’s marathon swimming events on August 8th and 9th.
