Olympic Triathlon Goes Ahead on Seine After E.Coli Cliffhanger

The Olympic triathlon began in Paris on Thursday morning, after bacteria levels in the River Seine dropped too low for the swimming leg of the competition to take place in its waters.

Doubts about whether the competitions will continue in the Seine as planned have become hot topics for these Olympics.

The women’s race started at 8 am local time after the Seine team was recognized in the morning hours.

As female triathletes hit the water on the Pont Alexandre III bridge in central Paris, it marked the end of an ambitious $1.5B (€1.4B) plan by the city of Paris to clean up the river’s badly polluted water to make it manageable. important endurance swimming events during the Olympics.

Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo hopes the program will have a lasting legacy of allowing Parisians to swim in the Seine, which has been off limits for most of the century.

In an effort to prove that clean water is sufficient for the Olympics, Hidalgo even threw himself into the ground before the 2024 games.

Unseasonably heavy rains on the night of the opening ceremony on Friday (July 26) that continued into Saturday pushed bacteria, including e.coli, above unacceptable levels. This led to the men’s race being postponed on Tuesday.

Storm warnings in Paris late Tuesday, Wednesday morning sparked fears that bacteria levels would rise significantly and that the Triathlon would be downgraded to a Duathlon instead.

However, despite heavy rain on Wednesday morning, the World Triathlon and International Olympic Committee announced at 4.00 am local time that the women’s race will continue, followed by a postponed men’s race.

“The results of the latest water test, obtained at 3.20 am, have been checked to see if they are compatible with the World Triathlon allowing for triathlon competitions,” they said in a statement.

The men’s race will be held at 10.45 am local time.

The Paris triathlon consists of a 1,500m swim and against the current of the river, followed by a 40km bike and 10km running legs around the center of Paris.