Triathlon
Olympic Games Paris 2024
Paris 2024 Olympic Games: Men's triathlon event postponed over pollution fears in River Seine
Updated 30/07/2024 at 08:58 GMT
Great Britain's Alex Yee and Beth Potter face an anxious wait to see whether the triathlon events will go ahead this week, after the men's race was cancelled just hours before it was due to get underway on Tuesday. Organisers have had to “reschedule the event for health reasons” following heavy rain in the French capital, with the water quality levels “still above the acceptable limits”.
Watch: Why has the men's triathlon been postponed? What is the back-up plan?
The men’s triathlon event at the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris has been postponed due to concerns over pollution in the River Seine.
Following an inspection in the early hours of Tuesday morning, the decision to postpone the event was made just hours before the race was due to get underway.
Organisers say heavy rain over the last couple of days means they had to “reschedule the event for health reasons” because water quality levels were “still above the acceptable limits”.
According to the Guardian, World Triathlon, the International Olympic Committee (IOC), Meteo France, the City of Paris and the Prefecture of the Ile-de-France Region were all involved in the decision to postpone Tuesday’s action.
The men’s race has been rescheduled for Wednesday morning at 09:45 BST, which will get underway following the conclusion of the women’s race, which starts at 07:00 BST.
A statement read: “Both triathlons are subject to the forthcoming water tests complying with the established World Triathlon thresholds for swimming. The original contingency day also remains in place for August 2, for further considerations.
“Paris 2024 and World Triathlon reiterate that their priority is the health of the athletes. The tests carried out in the Seine today revealed water quality levels that did not provide sufficient guarantees to allow the event to be held.
“Unfortunately, meteorological events beyond our control, such as the rain which fell over Paris on July 26 and 27, can alter water quality and compel us to reschedule the event for health reasons. Despite the improvement on the water quality levels in the last hours, the readings at some points of the swim course are still above the acceptable limits.”
Despite the updated plans, there is still no guarantee that the races will still go ahead, as athletes face a nervous wait to find out whether the water quality improves.
All practice that was due to take place in the lead-up to the event was repeatedly cancelled due to poor water quality, which still has not improved.
Team GB have strong contenders and genuine medal hopes across both events, with Tokyo 2020 silver medalist Alex Yee and World Champion Beth Potter expected to gun for gold in the French capital.
Unfortunately for competition organisers and athletes, there is more bad weather forecast with heavy rain and the risk of thunder and lightning threatening further postponements.
The French government spent €1.4 billion (£1.2bn) to improve the water quality in an attempt to clear up the Seine for the Games after it was banned from swimming events for over 100 years.
Duathlon remains an option if there are more delays
Eurosport reporter Rachel Stringer gave an update from Paris just before 08:00 BST on Tuesday, revealing the plans in place should more bad weather lead to further postponements.
If the forecast storm - which is expected on Tuesday night - means both the women’s and men’s races cannot take place on Wednesday, then they would be rescheduled for Friday, August 2.
2024 Olympic Games in Paris
Image credit: Getty Images
But there is still no guarantee that the events would be able to take place in the scheduled format, which means that, in the “worst possible case”, the race would change from a triathlon to a duathlon; a running leg, then a cycling leg, followed by a second running leg.
Another issue, according to Stringer, is the current in the Seine, which is moving at a “really fast” speed of three metres per second, while World Triathlon prefer a speed closer to one metre per second.
She also reported that athletes were notified of the postponement at 04:00am local time on Tuesday, either by WhatsApp or email.
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