PARIS — Concerns over the water quality of the Seine River in Paris have continued into the 2024 Olympics, with the cancellation of a pre-race triathlon on Sunday.
Organizers announced that they had cancelled the swimming portion of the triathlon familiarization session scheduled for Sunday morning, following a meeting on water quality between the authorities responsible for conducting water quality tests. This included representatives from World Triathlon, as well as municipal and regional authorities.
Swimming in the Seine has been banned for more than a century, largely because of poor water quality. Organizers have invested $1.5 billion to prepare the Seine for these Games, and the government has said the river will be clean enough to host events including the swimming portion of the triathlon and the marathon swim.
In early June, daily water quality tests revealed dangerous levels of E. coli bacteria, followed by recent improvements. Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo took a dip in the river less than two weeks before the Olympics began, making good on her promise to show that the long-polluted waterway was clean enough to host swimming competitions.
Heavy rains during the opening ceremony have revived concerns over whether the long-polluted waterway will be clean enough to host the swimming competitions, as water quality is closely linked to the weather in the French capital.
Since 2015, organizers have invested heavily to prepare the Seine for the Olympics and ensure Parisians have a cleaner river after the Games. The plan included building a massive underground water storage basin in central Paris, renovating sewer infrastructure and upgrading wastewater treatment plants.
The triathletes expressed hope that the waters would be clean enough for them to swim.
“I hope we can swim, cycle and run, because I don’t swim much, just run and cycle,” said Spanish triathlete Alberto Gonzalez.
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AP Olympics: https://apnews.com/hub/paris-olympics-2024
