Concerns over the water quality of Paris' Seine River have continued into the 2024 Olympics, with a pre-race triathlon event there canceled.
Organisers say they nixed the swimming leg of the scheduled triathlon familiarisation, after a meeting among authorities tasked with carrying out water quality tests. That included representatives of World Triathlon, as well as city and regional authorities.
Swimming in the Seine has been banned for more than a century in large part due to poor water quality. Organisers have invested US$1.5 billion (NZ$2.55b) to prepare the Seine for these Games and the government promised the river would be clean enough to hold events, including the swimming portion of the triathlon and the marathon swimming event.
Daily water quality tests in early June indicated unsafe levels of E. coli bacteria, followed by recent improvements. Parisian Mayor Anne Hidalgo took a famous dip in the river less than two weeks before Olympic events started, fulfilling a pledge to show the long-polluted waterway was clean enough to host swimming competitions.
Heavy rain during the opening ceremony revived concerns, since water quality is deeply linked with the weather in the French capital.
Since 2015, organisers have invested heavily to prepare the Seine for the Olympics and to ensure Parisians have a cleaner river after the Games. The plan included constructing a giant underground water storage basin in central Paris, renovating sewer infrastructure and upgrading wastewater treatment plants.
Triathletes have expressed hope that the waters would be clean enough for them to swim in.
After winning bronze at Tokyo 2020, Kiwi Hayden Wilde is again among medal favourites for the men's event on Tuesday eveing (NZ time).
“Hopefully, we get to swim, bike and run, because I don't swim this much to just run and bike," said Spanish triathlete Alberto Gonzalez.
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