SEINE POLLUTION LEADS TO TRIATHLON SWIMMING TRAINING CANCELLATION

The pollution levels in the River Seine have been a hot topic leading up to the 2024 Summer Olympic Games in Paris.  

Earlier this month, the city’s mayor proved that it’s safe to swim in the river by doing it herself. She was accompanied by several reporters and the PR stunt helped to calm a lot of nerves from athletes.

That’s until Sunday when a joint statement was released by Paris 2024 and the World Triathlon which said that tests had shown the water quality was below an acceptable standard.

The statement said heavy rain in the French capital over the past 48 hours led to the quality of the water diminishing.

“The priority is the health of the athletes,” read the statement.

“Given the weather forecast for the next 48 hours, Paris 2024 and World Triathlon are confident that water quality will return to below limits before the start of the triathlon competitions (on 30 July).”

The BBC reports that should the water quality not reach the required standard on race day, the triathlon events have two contingency days, 1 and 2 August, built into the programme.

The statement also said that if the water quality doesn’t reach the required levels, the swimming leg of the triathlon will be dropped and become a duathlon.

Image credit: Reuters