The men’s triathlon event at the 2024 Paris Olympics has been pushed back to tomorrow, Wednesday, after high pollution levels and low water quality in the Seine River. The Seine, which flows down the heart of Paris, has had high E. coli levels leading up to the Games.
This is the third day in a row in which the triathlon athletes have been affected. The last two days have featured the cancellation of the training session for the triathletes in the Seine due to high pollution levels.
The men’s race is now scheduled for Wednesday, the same day as the women’s triathlon. If the water quality is still poor tomorrow, Friday is set as a backup date for both races. Paris organizers have also announced that Plan B for the triathlon is to host the events as a duathlon, a race with only biking and running.
The Seine is also scheduled to hold the open water races which are scheduled for next week. World Triathlon and World Aquatics (in charge of the open water races) have different acceptable limits for E.Coli and other bacterial levels:
World Aquatics requirements for inland waterways:
● Enterococci score: <200 is Excellent; <400 is Good; >400 is Unacceptable
● E. Coli score: <500 is Excellent; <1,000 is Good; >1,000 is Unacceptable
World Triathlon requirements for inland waterways:
● Enterococci score: <200 is Excellent; <400 is Good; <330 is Sufficient
● E. Coli score: <500 is Excellent; <1,000 is Good; <900 is Sufficient
Rain is expected to be in the forecast tonight with “heavy and torrential downpours at times,” according to The Weather Channel at the time of publishing. That rain is forecasted to continue into tomorrow as well. NBC reported on its broadcast during the Opening Ceremony that the E. Coli levels were “too high” that day. If the races were held that day, they would have been postponed. The situation has continued.
This is just sad. Zero culpability. Zero care. They had years and years to figure this out and these triathletes and open water swimmers spend their whole life training for this. Swimming/acquatic seems to be an afterthought at these Olympics, including the competition pool.
How can a score be “good” but not “sufficient”?
The expression about hand grenades comes to mind.
The backup plan for the open water is to use the rowing lake which is around 40k from the Olympic village. They cannot use another location for the triathlon as the cycle and run courses are already planned round the centre of Paris
Is their reasoning for making it a duathlon instead of just moving the swim location because it would also necessitate moving the location of the other legs? Is the alternate swim site that far from the original bike/run course that they couldn’t pull it off?
As has been pointed out a lot on here this is a massive fail that almost everyone saw coming for a long time and could have been easily avoided. Feel bad for these athletes.
Which that is the case because the organizers quite publically and proudly refused to consider that the Seine would not be viable. They had ample time to actually have a plan b ready to go
What a twist! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-N3Uk8Y5km8
Under Paris is real! They’ve just refused to believe the Seine could be dirty after their massive clean-up effort. Leading up to the games they did in fact find a way to test below unacceptable E. Coli….as long as it didn’t rain. Let’s give them another 100 years to try again
What a waste of a billion plus euros for this again never host the Olympics or any international athletic event ever again whatever France touches they have ruined
Just like all the wars they’ve been in, and needed to be bailed out, sheer incompetence!
Paris had years to fix this.
And even if they can’t why not have a contingency location?
Maybe the ocean or a lake within 50 miles???