Olympics: Swimming training cancelled for second day due to water quality of the Seine

A tourist boat sails on the Seine under the Alexandre III bridge after the first triathlon training session during the Paris 2024 Olympic Games had to be cancelled on July 28, 2024 due to pollution of the Seine.
Photo: AFP / Valentine Chapuis

Paris Olympics organizers canceled triathlon swimming training for the second year in a row on Monday after heavy rain affected water quality in the Seine, 24 hours before the men's race.

On Tuesday at 8 a.m. (6 a.m. CET), 55 triathletes are scheduled to line up on a floating pontoon next to the Pont Alexandre III and plunge into the Seine. It will be the first time since 1900 that athletes have competed in the river at an Olympic Games.

The women's individual race is scheduled for Wednesday, also at 8 a.m. (local time).

In case the water quality does not improve in time, the organizers have set August 2 as an emergency day for the individual races and August 6 for the mixed relay.

“They still seem very hopeful for the men tomorrow and the women on Wednesday,” said Team Bermuda coach Dan Hugo, husband of Tokyo gold medalist Flora Duffy.

“But if necessary, one or both will be postponed to Friday.”

For Paris 2024, part of the schedule has already had to be changed. For example, the men's skateboarding was postponed from Saturday to Monday due to rain.

A Seine in which one can swim is an important legacy that the organizers of the Games want to leave to the people of Paris.

France has invested around €1.4 billion (NZ$2.6 billion) in new sewage infrastructure to reduce the amount of wastewater entering the river, and city authorities have announced plans to open three bathing areas to the public by June next year.

Training on Sunday was also cancelled after tests carried out on Saturday showed that the water quality did not meet the required limits.

The running and cycling training sessions remain unaffected.

“Given the weather forecast for the next 36 hours, Paris 2024 and World Triathlon are confident that water quality will return to below limits before the start of triathlon competitions on July 30,” organizers said in a statement on Monday.

– Reuters