World Triathlon goes ahead with the competition in the Seine
Following requests from the triathlon teams to provide the athletes with more time to prepare for the upcoming Mixed Relay competition, a meeting took place today 4 August at 19:00 to review the water quality results. Representatives from World Triathlon, Paris 2024, the International Olympic Committee, Météo France, DRIEAT, the City of Paris and the Prefecture of the Île-de-France Region were involved in carrying out water quality tests.
During this meeting, World Triathlon took the decision to move ahead with the Mixed Relay competition, scheduled for Monday, 5 August, at 8.00.
🇧🇪🇫🇷 ALERTE INFO – L’équipe belge de triathlon déclare forfait car l’une de leurs athlètes a été contaminée par une bactérie lors de son passage dans la Seine. (La Libre) #Paris2024
pic.twitter.com/t8SbtVs0L2— Mediavenir (@Mediavenir) August 4, 2024
The latest test results confirm that Seine water quality levels at the triathlon venue have improved in recent hours, with forward looking analysis indicating that water quality will be within the levels acceptable by World Triathlon. As a result, World Triathlon has taken the decision this evening to go ahead with the competition.
Triathletes ill after swimming in the Seine
A Belgian triathlete has fallen ill after taking part in a race that included a stage on the River Seine. The quality of the waters of the iconic Parisian river has been called into question on several occasions before and during the Games, and on Sunday one of training sessions was suspended as Belgian triathlete, Claire Michel’s condition worsened.
According to the Belgian National Olympic Committee on Sunday, Michel felt unwell after taking part in the women’s individual Olympic triathlon on Wednesday.
One of the participants in a complicated event, fellow Belgian Jolien Vermeylen, described the “Sunderland River and the Hong Kong World Cup” as “much worse water to swim in”.
“The COIB and Belgian triathlon hope that lessons will be learned for future triathlon competitions at the Olympic Games,” the Belgian Olympic Committee warned in the statement. This situation and the suspension of training for the in-water portion of the triathlon casts doubt on the mixed relay event scheduled for Monday. It is not the only event pending on the river: the men’s and women’s marathon swims are scheduled for 8 and 9 August.
Training in the river was interrupted last week, and the men’s individual event was postponed due to pollution problems. Many triathletes were caught by surprise by the strong currents in the Seine, with some expressing concerns about water quality and delays affecting their training and the men’s competition.
In this case, Thursday night’s heavy storm is suspected to have worsened the water quality of the river, as downpours often cause sewage overflows in the Seine.
However, on Saturday night Paris 2024 spokeswoman Anne Descamps said Sunday’s training sessions had also been cancelled, due to the rain in recent days and linking Monday’s event to confidence in improved weather forecasts.