Olympic organizers have to cancel event and face further embarrassment

Rather than focusing maximum attention on an opening ceremony that could generously be described as polarizing, perhaps the Paris organizers of the 2024 Summer Olympics should have paid more attention to the events themselves.

While much of the world debates the merits (or otherwise) of the Olympics opening ceremony and its religious overtones, this particular controversy may have actually worked to its advantage for the organizers.

How?

Because all the talk about the opening ceremony distracts people from talking about a very different kind of flaw that the Olympics are currently experiencing: one of the events was a logistical disaster.

As several media outlets, including USA Today, have reported, the Seine in France has become a cesspool of pollution.

And that is a small problem for the triathlon participants at the Olympic Games.

The Seine is actually supposed to be the venue for the swimming competitions in the triathlon, but it is currently not usable because it is – to put it bluntly – disgusting.

“Whether the Seine will be clean enough to host Olympic triathlon and open-water swimming events was a much-debated topic at the Games,” USA Today reported.

The main culprit behind all this consternation is the notorious E. coli bacteria, which are present in far too high concentrations in the Seine.

The costly cleanup effort (over $1.5 billion) initially seemed to produce acceptable results.

“After a series of tests earlier this month, the river was considered clean enough for swimming competitions, but heavy rains in the French capital over the past 48 hours appear to have put an end to that claim,” USA Today reported.

However, the source noted that triathlon authorities are “confident that water quality will return to below limits before the start of triathlon competitions.”

The event officially begins on Tuesday, but the Seine was supposed to serve as a training ground for the athletes over the weekend.

While cycling and running training took place without interruption due to the condition of the Seine, swimming training was obviously cancelled.

As the Associated Press noted, training on the Seine was canceled for two days in a row, preventing potential participants from preparing for what is arguably the toughest part of a triathlon.

Ironically, the organizers of the Paris Olympic Games seem to be putting their faith in God – despite what many have described as blasphemous undertones at the opening ceremony.

“The sport's governing body, World Triathlon, its medical team and city authorities are counting on sunny weather and warmer temperatures to bring levels of E. coli and other bacteria below the limits required to conduct the swim portion of the race,” AP reported.

According to USA Today, the event will go on as planned on Tuesday, assuming E. coli levels improve. “Plan B” would postpone the event for another day.

A far more monumental “Plan C” would be to eliminate the swimming portion of the triathlon (now called biathlon) altogether.