Originally published at: Men’s Olympic Triathlon Postponed – Slowtwitch Blog
The Seine River has been deemed unfit for swimming, and the men’s Olympic Triathlon has been postponed from today.
In a note sent to official delegations, World Triathlon noted the following:
“Following a meeting on water quality held on 30 July at 3.30am attended by Paris 2024, representatives of World Triathlon and their Technical and Medical Delegates, the International Olympic Committee, Meteo France, the City of Paris and the Prefecture of the Île-de-France Region involved in carrying out water quality tests, decision has been made to postpone the men's triathlon event which was due to be held on 30 July at 8am.
Considering the latest weather information, it has been decided to schedule the men's triathlon event on 31 July at 10h45. The women's triathlon is due to take place the same day at 8am. Both triathlons are subject to the forthcoming water tests complying with the established World Triathlon thresholds for swimming. The original contingency day also remains in place for August 2, for further considerations.
Paris 2024 and World Triathlon reiterate that their priority is the health of the athletes. The tests carried out in the Seine today revealed water quality levels that did not provide sufficient guarantees to allow the event to be held.
Unfortunately, meteorological events beyond our control, such as the rain which fell over Paris on 26 and 27 July, can alter water quality and compel us to reschedule the event for health reasons. Despite the improvement on the water quality levels in the last hours, the readings at some points
of the swim course are still above the acceptable limits.”
Those water quality tests showed, for example, e.Coli numbers in the 1000 ufc/100mL range and enterococci levels in the mid-800s, well above the ranges suggested for the “Good” water quality standard (the minimum allowable by World Triathlon standards).
It is a massive blow to the Games, which were meant to highlight the efforts of a 1.5 billion Euro project to clean the Seine River and make it swimmable.