HomeInternational NewsMen's Olympic Triathlon Postponed Due to River Pollution Concerns

Men’s Olympic Triathlon Postponed Due to River Pollution Concerns

The men’s Olympic triathlon, scheduled for today, has been postponed due to unhealthy pollution levels in the Seine River. This announcement was made by the organizers, Paris 2024 and World Triathlon, after water quality tests revealed high levels of contamination. The organizers released a joint statement on Tuesday, indicating that the excessive pollution was caused by heavy rainstorms that struck the French capital on Friday and Saturday. “The priority for Paris 2024 and World Triathlon is to protect the health of the athletes,” the statement read.

The men’s triathlon has now been rescheduled to 10:45 AM (08:45 GMT) on Wednesday, following the women’s event, which will start at 08:00 AM (06:00 GMT). However, if the levels of bacteria remain too high on Wednesday morning, both the men’s and women’s competitions will likely be moved to Friday, which is reserved for contingency events. If the water quality is not safe enough for swimming on Friday, the swimming portions of both triathlons will be canceled. “Tests conducted in the Seine today have shown water quality levels that do not provide sufficient guarantees for the event to take place,” stated the organizers’ declaration.

Bernard Smith from Al Jazeera reported from Paris that the organizers had hoped that the swimming in the Seine would be the “wow factor” of the triathlon, which is designed around famous Parisian landmarks. Athletes were set to jump into the Seine from a pontoon at the Alexandre III bridge and then race past the Musée d’Orsay and the Grand Palais before finishing back where they started.

Much of the funding for the cleanup of the river has been spent on large tanks and reservoirs to manage rainwater, which, according to Smith, fell heavily for nearly 48 hours. “This has increased the levels in the tanks, and when the water level is too high, wastewater is often discharged into the Seine,” he explained. “This has raised levels of E. coli, and therefore the river is not safe enough for swimming.”

The authorities in Paris have invested €1.4 billion ($1.51 billion) in sewage infrastructure to handle wastewater and make the Seine swimmable. The city’s mayor, Anne Hidalgo, has swum in the river before the Olympics to convince skeptics that the water is clean enough.

Benjamin Maze, the technical director of the French Triathlon Federation, told FranceInfo radio that there was “some anger and a lot of disappointment” among the participants. Despite the postponement, Australia’s Olympic team leader, Anna Meares, stated that her team had not been discouraged. “The athletes are really looking forward to having that stage and that platform to perform on,” she told reporters. “They actually want to swim in the river.”

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