Olympic triathletes jumped into the Seine River on Monday morning at the start of the mixed relay event after organizers said bacteria levels in the long-polluted Paris waterway were at acceptable levels.
In a very tight sprint, the German team won the gold medal, while the United States took silver and Great Britain bronze.
The project to organize the swimming part of triathlons and swimming marathons in the Seine was ambitious. Swimming in this river, with a few exceptions, has been prohibited since 1923 because it is too toxic.
FRANCK FIFE / AFP via Getty Images
Representatives from World Triathlon and the International Olympic Committee, along with Paris Games organizers and regional and weather authorities, met Sunday night to review water tests. The results indicated that water quality at the triathlon venue had improved in the preceding hours and would be within World Triathlon’s limits by Monday morning, they said in a statement.
The decision to allow the Seine swim to go ahead comes after the Belgian Olympic Committee announced on Sunday that it would pull its team from the mixed relay triathlon after one of its competitors who swam in the river last week fell ill. It is unclear whether her illness had anything to do with her Seine swim.
Paris has spent €1.4 billion on infrastructure improvements to clean up the river that runs through its centre. This included building a giant basin to collect excess rainwater and prevent wastewater from flowing into the river, renovating sewer infrastructure and upgrading wastewater treatment plants.
Heavy rains that fell intermittently during the Games have caused headaches for organisers as they have led to high levels of faecal bacteria, including E. coli and enterococci, flowing into the river. Torrential rain fell on Thursday night but conditions were dry except for a light rain on Saturday night. The sun shone brightly during the race on Monday and athletes said organisers had reassured them there were no problems with water quality.
Organizers continue to express confidence that warm temperatures and the sun’s ultraviolet rays will combine to kill enough germs before each event, which will include a swim in the Seine.
Athletes swam in the river for the men’s and women’s individual triathlons on Wednesday, although the men’s race was delayed a day due to water quality. High levels of bacteria in the river led to the cancellation of the swim portion of the relay training sessions.
Daily water quality tests measure levels of fecal bacteria, including E. coli. The World Triathlon Water Safety Guidelines and a 2006 European Union directive assign quality values to a range of E. coli levels.
According to World Triathlon guidelines, E. coli levels of up to 1,000 colony-forming units per 100 milliliters can be considered “good” and can allow competitions to take place.
The mixed triathlon relay involves four-person teams of two men and two women, with each athlete swimming 300 meters, cycling 4.2 miles, and running 1.2 miles.
