Paris Olympics: Triathlon finally given green light despite water quality concerns

Organisers say men's and women's races will go ahead on Wednesday after tests had shown a drop in River Seine bacteria levels

Competitors start the swimming leg of the women's individual triathlon at the Paris Olympics. Getty Images

Follow the latest news on the 2024 Paris Olympics

The men's and women's Olympic triathlons will go ahead on Wednesday after River Seine water testing revealed lower levels of bacteria.

The men's event was due to take place on Tuesday but was postponed over concerns about water quality.

A joint statement from Paris 2024 and World Triathlon early on Wednesday confirmed the latest water quality tests had shown a drop in bacteria levels.

The statement said: “The results of the latest water analyses, received at 3.20am, have been assessed as compliant by World Triathlon allowing for the triathlon competitions to take place.”

World Triathlon posted a picture of the River Seine to social media with a brief message, telling followers: “We will swim”.

The race will take place at 10.45am on Wednesday local time, after the women's race which is scheduled to take place at 8am.

Swimming training for the triathletes was cancelled on Sunday and Monday after water quality testing.

More than a billion euros was spent on cleaning up the river in preparation for the Paris Games, but organisers knew heavy rain in the days before a competition could cause the levels of the harmful bacteria E. coli to rise.

The swimming portion of the triathlon is set to take place in the river that flows through the heart of the French capital, part of a plan by organisers to make the Seine itself a star attraction during the Games.

The mixed relay triathlon event is scheduled for August 5 along the river, with the women’s and men’s 10km distance swim races set for August 8 and 9.

To make it safe for swimmers, authorities spent €1.4 billion ($1.5 billion) on new infrastructure to clean up the river, as a streak of rainy days can cause the sewage system to overflow, bringing waste water and bacteria into the Seine.

The opening ceremony was hit by heavy rain on Friday that persisted well into Saturday evening, prompting the cancellation of the rehearsals of two water portions of the swim-bike-run race.

Rain started falling in Paris early Wednesday morning, but the forecast predicts dry conditions during racing hours, according to Meteo France.

Aurelie Merle, the Paris 2024 director of sports, told reporters on Tuesday that water samples are taken 21-and-a-half hours before decisions are made about the swim. That leaves uncertainty about their accuracy on the day of the race.

Merle said that testing results showed “we’re very close to the threshold of triathlon”, adding that one of four test sites along the triathlon course was below the threshold for E. coli. Two other sites were just above the limit and one was more elevated, she said, citing a range of 980 to 1,553.

“We know the sun and the heat have a very strong impact on the quality of the water,” she said, hoping that a heatwave that hit most of France on Tuesday would help improve water quality enough for the swims to go ahead.