The Men's Triathlon of the Olympic Games is postponed due to poor water quality
Today there will be no triathlon at the Paris Olympic Games after it was announced this morning that the men's event is postponed due to the high levels of E.Coli contamination in the Seine.
The event, which was scheduled for 08:00 a.m. today (July 30), has been rescheduled for tomorrow, July 31, at 10:45 a.m. immediately after the women's elite test scheduled for 08:00 a.m.
Causes of Postponement
The decision to postpone the event was made by World Triathlon, its Technical and Medical delegates, the International Olympic Committee, Météo France, the City of Paris and the Prefecture of the Île-de-France Region.
The reason behind this extreme resolution is none other than the levels of contamination of the Seine by the E.Coli bacteria.
Despite the improvement in water quality levels in recent hours, the readings at some points of the swimming course remain above acceptable limits, and therefore, the water quality does not offer sufficient guarantees to allow the celebration of the event.
The organization attributes these negative results to the rains that fell on Paris on July 26 and 27.
This situation is a blow for the organization, which until the last minute was confident that everything would go according to the planned schedule.
New Calendar
The men's triathlon will be heldl July 31 at 10:45 a.m., while the women's triathlon remains on the same day at 8 hours.
The two tests depend on the next controls that will be carried out on the water of the Seine and are expected to comply with the World Triathlon parameters.
If these controls are not passed, it will be postponed to August 2
Regarding the mixed relay, scheduled for August 5, the organization reserves the possibility of delaying it one day, that is, to August 6.
If in neither case could swimming in the Seine River be practicable, it would be decided to carry out the events in duathlon format.
Official announcement
This is the official statement
"After a meeting on water quality held on July 30 at 3:30 a.m., in which Paris 2024 participated, representatives of World Triathlon and its Technical and Medical Delegates, the International Olympic Committee, Météo France, the City of Paris and the Prefecture of the Île-de-France Region involved in carrying out water quality tests, the decision has been made to postpone the men's triathlon event that was to be held on July 30 at 8:00 a.m.
Taking into account the latest weather information, it has been decided to schedule the men's triathlon event on July 31 at 10:45 a.m.
The women's triathlon will take place on the same day at 8 a.m. Both triathlons are subject to upcoming water events meeting the thresholds set by World Triathlon for swimming. The original contingency day is also maintained for August 2, for additional considerations.
Paris 2024 and World Triathlon reiterate that their priority is the health of the athletes. The tests carried out today in the Seine revealed water quality levels that did not offer sufficient guarantees to allow the event to be held.
Unfortunately, weather events beyond our control, such as the rains that fell in Paris on July 26 and 27, may alter the quality of the water and force us to reschedule the test for health reasons.
Despite the improvement in water quality levels in recent hours, readings at some points along the swimming course are still above acceptable limits.
We will provide athletes who must participate in the men's triathlon event with all the information about their postponement, as well as real-time updates on the situation.
Information regarding tickets and the broadcast of the tests on Wednesday, July 31, will be shared in the next few hours.
There will be a meeting at 8am between World Triathlon and the coaches to provide more information and the updated schedule for July 31. ".
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