Triathlon cancels Olympic swimming training for second day due to poor water quality in Seine

PARIS (AP) — Concerns about water quality in the Seine River prompted authorities to cancel the swimming leg of an Olympic triathlon training event for the second day in a row on Monday.

Organizers of the Paris Olympics event are optimistic that triathletes will be able to swim in the city’s famous waterway when the competition begins on Tuesday.

The sport’s governing body, World Triathlon, the medical team and the municipality are counting on sunny weather and higher temperatures to keep bacteria levels below the levels needed to allow the swimming portion of the race, which also includes cycling and running, to take place.

World Triathlon has decided to cancel swimming training on Monday morning after a meeting on the water quality of the Seine, which is closely linked to the weather. Friday’s opening ceremony was swamped by rain and Saturday continued to rain, forcing the cancellation of some tennis matches and the skateboarding competition.

Representatives of Paris 2024 and the International Triathlon Federation said tests carried out on Sunday in the Seine showed that the water quality ahead of the training session “did not provide sufficient guarantees for the event to take place”. The delegation blamed recent rainfall.

French Sports Minister Amélie Oudéa-Castéra told French news channel CNEWS on Monday that authorities are “absolutely calm about all this.” The plans they have put in place to control bacteria levels in the river have been effective, but the weather is beyond their control, she said.

Recent rainfall added to concerns about water quality, but she said she was confident the situation would improve.

“I am confident that we can be there tomorrow in the men’s triathlon event,” she said.

Organizers said the contingency plan is to postpone the events and, if bacteria levels remain elevated, the swimming portion of the race will be canceled and athletes will compete in a duathlon.

Swimming in the Seine has been banned for more than a century, largely because of poor water quality. Organizers have invested 1.4 billion euros ($1.5 billion) to prepare the river for the Olympics.

In addition to the swimming portion of the men’s triathlon on Tuesday, the women’s triathlon on Wednesday and the mixed relay triathlon on Monday, the Seine is also expected to be used for the marathon swimming competitions on August 8 and 9.

Daily water quality tests in early June showed unsafe levels of E. coli bacteria, followed by recent improvements. Some of the measures taken to improve water quality include the construction of a giant reservoir to capture stormwater and prevent sewage from flowing into the river, renovating sewage infrastructure, and upgrading wastewater treatment plants.

About two weeks before the Olympics were set to begin, Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo took a public dip in the river, hoping to allay concerns that the polluted waterway would not be clean enough for swimming competitions.