Men's triathlon postponed by a day due to Seine pollution levels

Reuters

Published on Jul. 30, 2024, 2:44 PM

Updated on Jul. 30, 2024, 2:45 PM

As pollution levels remain high in the Seine, the men's triathlon at the Paris Olympics has been postponed to Wednesday, World Triathlon said.

The men's triathlon at the Paris Olympics has been postponed as pollution levels in the Seine remain too high, World Triathlon said on Tuesday, leaving organizers and athletes facing uncertainty.

The race was postponed to Wednesday at 10:45 a.m. local time (0845 GMT), immediately after the women's event, which is scheduled for 8 a.m. (0600 GMT) that day.

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Organizers were confident that water quality would improve in time for the race, after the heavy rains last Friday and Saturday that dirtied the river.

President of the World Triathlon, Marisol Casado.

"Of course we are all disappointed because we are not able to follow strictly what was planned. // But the situation at this point we are quite confident that that will happen tomorrow and then we will be very happy, all of us and the first ones, the athletes."

If bacteria levels remain too high by Wednesday morning, both the men's and women's races will likely be postponed to Friday, the designated contingency day for the events.

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And if water quality doesn't improve by Friday, the swim leg will be scrapped altogether, and athletes will compete in a duathlon instead.

France invested $1.4 billion in new wastewater infrastructure to contain sewage and minimize spillage into the river to make the Seine swimmable as a key legacy of the Games.

But the gamble that the river would be clean enough on the day of the triathlon was never guaranteed to pay off, especially since its water quality varies widely day-to-day.