Paris
CNN
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The rain that soaked Friday’s opening ceremony may have left Paris, but its effects are still being felt in the Seine, with concerns over water quality making the triathlon competition uncertain.
The decision to hold swimming events in the famous river that divides Paris in two has sparked some reactions since it was announced. Swimming in the Seine has been banned for a century, but in their desire to showcase the host city, organizers have come up with a plan to clean up the river so that the world’s best athletes can use it during Paris 2024.
It was a risky bet: Pollution in the Seine typically spikes after heavy rains like those that hit the French capital on Friday and much of Saturday. Training was canceled for a second straight day on Monday after water quality tests deemed the water unfit for athletes to drink.
Organizers are nonetheless confident that the race will go ahead as planned. The men’s triathlon is scheduled for Tuesday and the women’s triathlon for Wednesday. The reserve dates for these races are Thursday and Friday respectively.
“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,” Paris 2024 and World Triathlon said in a joint statement.
The Paris region is expecting its first heatwave of the summer this week, which will hit at the same time as the triathlon.
Maximum and minimum temperatures are expected to be well above average in the coming days, leading Météo-France to issue orange heat alerts from Monday noon local time for 39 different locations. In Paris and the Paris region, minimum temperatures will increase over the days, between 18 and 22°C. Maximum temperatures will reach 34 to 36°C on Tuesday and Wednesday, the days planned for the triathlon.
There is also a risk of scattered thunderstorms on Tuesday and Wednesday afternoons.
Officials remain confident that the event will take place
Olympic officials remain optimistic about the triathlon events later this week.
“We are confident that we can organise the competition tomorrow and Wednesday and we still have a contingency plan in place for Friday just in case,” Paris 2024 CEO Etienne Thobois told reporters on Monday.
Speaking at the International Olympic Committee’s daily news conference, Thobois said that “as you may have noticed, there has been a lot of rain in recent days, but we are monitoring it very closely,” adding that the forecast was improving.
“We are very respectful of the athletes and they are the heart of the Olympic Games,” Thobois added when asked about the athletes going to bed Monday night not knowing if they would be able to compete when they woke up.
Thobois reiterated that everything had been done “to achieve the level of quality of bathing in the Seine.”
Asked whether authorities were concerned about the river’s current, Thobois said that while “the current is much higher than usual at this time of year,” there is no problem in that regard.
The individual triathlon races will begin with a 1.5-kilometre swim, followed by a 40-kilometre bike ride – passing the Grand Palais and the Champs-Élysées – before finishing with a 10-kilometre run through the heart of the city.
A mixed team relay race involving four athletes – two men and two women – will begin with each team member completing a 300-metre swim, followed by a 5.8km bike ride and a 1.8km run.
The World Triathlon director told CNN on Monday that despite the optimism, there was still some doubt about whether the competition would go ahead on Tuesday.
Speaking to CNN Sport’s Amanda Davies, Marisol Casado said her confidence level was 8 out of 10 for Tuesday’s event, but that weather conditions were improving.
“There is still some doubt because, as I say, it depends on the weather conditions, (but) the weather conditions are currently very good, fantastic.”
Casado told CNN that there are contingency plans in place, which include canceling the entire swimming leg of the event if necessary.
“In the worst case, if it’s necessary, it’s in our rules, we will convert it to a duathlon, that is, run, cycle and run again. I hope it doesn’t come to that,” she said.
“Athletes are used to this kind of thing, especially with climate change, we’re not sure in many cases what’s going to happen,” she added.
Casado added that athletes train in the pools all the time and can compete without the “familiarization swim” if necessary.
About $1.5 billion (€1.4 billion) has been spent trying to clean up the Seine ahead of the Games, and Paris authorities have made much of its ability to clean up. Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo took a dip in the Seine earlier this month to show her confidence in the river’s water quality and has promised to install a swimming pool after the Games. France’s sports minister has also taken a dip in the Seine.
01:23 – Source: CNN
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One of the major infrastructure projects designed to help tackle pollution is a new rainwater storage basin – called the Austerlitz basin – which can hold the equivalent of 20 Olympic swimming pools, according to a Paris 2024 statement.
After the rains of June 17 and 18, the basin filled to 80% of its capacity, thus avoiding the discharge into the Seine of 40,000 m3 (40 million liters) of wastewater and rainwater, according to the City of Paris.
But water quality can change quickly. Official data shows that one-off rainfall events can quickly cause E. coli levels are rising again, and as recently as June 30 – after the previous day’s rain – E. coli levels rose to around 2000 CFU/100 ml at Alexandra Bridge III, where the race is due to start.
This is double the level required for “good” quality water, according to World Triathlon standards.
For much of the month leading up to the Games, E. coli The levels were above acceptable levels, which could put athletes at risk of serious health problems. E. Coli If levels are above 1000 CFU/100ml, the swim leg of the triathlon will have to be cancelled, in accordance with World Triathlon competition rules, unless the organisation’s medical committee decides that the race can take place.
CNN’s Saskya Vandoorne, Billy Stockwell, Julen Chavin, Amy Woodyatt, Joseph Ataman and Samantha Tapfumaneyi contributed to this report.