Kiwi triathletes Hayden Wilde and Dylan McCullough have seen their Olympic preparations disrupted by news that their race has been postponed due to ongoing concerns over the water quality in the Seine River.
The iconic Paris waterway was supposed to host the opening leg of the swim-bike-run event, but athletes have awoken early to an emailed statement from World Triathlon, advising them of the last-minute decision to delay the start 24 hours, after the scheduled women's contest.
The Kiwis simply turned off their alarm clocks and went back to sleep.
"We knew there would be a 3.30am meeting and a decision would come out at 4am, so I had my phone set up, in case any news came through," NZ triathlon coach Craig Kirkwood told Breakfast. "A bit frustrating, but can't do much about it.
"We definitely talked about it, but were hoping it wouldn't come to this. Hopefully it happens tomorrow and doesn't get pushed out to become a duathlon."
The delay may have consequences for the Kiwi athletes (Source: 1News)
Such disruption has the potential to severely affect their build-up, with Wilde — a bronze medallist at Tokyo 2020 — again expected to contend for the podium, perhaps even gold.
"If it turns to a duathlon, that's probably a good thing for Hayden," said Kirkwood. "He's probably better at duathlon than triathlon.
The state of the Seine has been an ongoing issue in the lead-up to the Olympics, with Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo taking a much-publicised dip to allay any fears over athletes' health.
All four Kiwi triathletes — Wilde and McCullough in the men, along with Nicole van der Kaay and Ainsley Thorpe in the women — contested an Olympic test event in the river last August, suffering no subsequent illness.
"No issues," said Wilde, after his selection was confirmed last month. "I'm pretty confident we'll have a triathlon for sure.
"The thing I'm most concerned about is the shark," he teased. "There's a new movie on Netflix about the shark in the Seine - I hear it's pretty bad, but you've got to have a look."
'Under Seine' centres on a rogue mako shark that strays up the river to terrorise a pre-Olympic triathlon — a plotline a little too close to home for comfort.
World Triathlon's statement — entitled 'We race tomorrow' and issued in capital letters — says recent water quality tests simply did not reach the required standard for athlete safety.
"Paris 2024 and World Triathlon reiterate that their priority is the health of the athletes," it said. "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 vent 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 levels."
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