Olympic triathlon goes ahead after officials give the green light over Seine water quality

By Kyle Feldscher, CNN

Paris (CNN) — The triathlon competitions went ahead in Paris on Wednesday after concerns over water quality in the River Seine caused the men’s race to be postponed a day earlier.

More rain came into Paris overnight but World Triathlon and Paris 2024 determined the water quality was sufficient to move ahead for both the women’s and men’s races.

“Following a meeting on water quality held on 31 July at 3:30 a.m. attended by Paris 2024, representatives of World Triathlon and their Technical and Medical Delegates, Météo France, the City of Paris and the Prefecture of the Île-de-France Region involved in carrying out water quality tests, the stakeholders involved have confirmed that the women’s and the men’s triathlons will go ahead as planned on 31 July at 8 a.m. and 10:45 a.m. respectively,” Paris 2024 and World Triathlon said in a joint statement.

Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo celebrated the fact that the race was able to be held, saying Paris leaders had “won our bet.”

“The pollution has been cleaned up,” Hidalgo declared. “If the infrastructure wasn’t built, we couldn’t have had people swimming this morning because of the storms that took place these past few days,” Hidalgo told reporters, adding that the water quality numbers this morning were “very good,” allowing for the event to happen.

Hidalgo added that for years the river had been considered “almost a sewer,” saying that many thought this was mission “impossible.”

“I’m happy. Relieved means we had fears that we would not succeed. I’ve never thought we would not succeed,” Hidalgo said.

The women’s race had been marked by bike crashes on the wet streets of Paris. In the cycling portion of the race, several athletes fell after slipping on the slippery roads. Vittoria Lopes of Brazil was among the leaders when she fell but fell out of contention.

France’s Cassandre Beaugrand eventually was crowned women’s triathlon Olympic champion on home soil, roared across the finish line by a boisterous French crowd that broke out into a rendition ‘La Marseillaise.’

Team GB’s Alex Yee produced a sensational finish to take the lead of the men’s triathlon on the final bend and snatch the gold medal away from New Zealand’s Hayden Wilde. Wilde had opened up a 15-second lead during the run, the third and final portion of the race, but Yee hunted him down spectacularly over the last 1.5 kilometers.

Yee adds the gold to the triathlon silver and mixed relay gold he won three years ago in Tokyo.

Women’s silver medal winner Julie Derron of Switzerland said the athletes put their trust in organizers.

“The swimming was fine during the race. We know that they took samples this morning. They take a lot of time to analyze. So, we don’t know the results obviously. We all trust the authorities and the organizers that they keep us safe. And so we had a safe race today,” she said.

After the race, men’s gold medal winner Alex Yee was complimentary to the organizers.

“We’re lucky enough to have probably the most beautiful venue of any race in the Olympics. And I guess that came with a small penalty of the risk of the Seine being dirty,” he said.

“I think the big difference between a lot of the challenges that we’ve had before is that the government is being proactive in trying to clean the water, rather than in other countries, where we’re seeing the opposite happening. So, I think fair play to France and the government that were able to hopefully create a legacy and for that to live on post our race. Hopefully, some people are watching today and can then go and try the sport for the first time and in a place where they probably could never before.”

Rains impacting water quality

Heavy rains battered Paris over the weekend, drenching Friday’s opening ceremony and raising concerns about water quality in the river, which usually declines after rainfall.

Training was canceled for a second straight day on Monday after water quality testing deemed the water unsafe for athletes, but organizers were confident at the time that Tuesday’s race would go ahead as planned.

The decision to hold some swimming events in the famous river that splits Paris raised eyebrows when it was first announced. Swimming in the Seine has been illegal for a century but, in their desire to put the host city on full display, organizers worked up a plan to clean up the river so the world’s best athletes could use it during Paris 2024.

About $1.5 billion (1.4 billion Euros) has been spent trying to clean up the river ahead of the Games and Paris officials have made a big show of displaying its suitability. Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo swam in the river earlier this month to display her confidence in the river’s water quality and promised to put a swimming pool in the river after the Games. The French sports minister has also gone for a dip in the Seine.

One of the key infrastructure projects designed to help tackle pollution has been a new rainwater storage basin – called the Austerlitz basin – which can hold 20 Olympic swimming pools worth of water, according to a statement from Paris 2024.

Following rainy weather on June 17 and 18, the basin filled to 80% capacity, successfully preventing 40,000 cubic meters (40 million liters) of wastewater and rainwater from being discharged into the Seine, according to the city of Paris.

But the water quality can change fast. Official data shows one-off rainfall events can quickly cause E. coli levels to spike again, and as recently as June 30 – following rain the previous day – E. coli levels increased to around 2000 CFU/100mL at Alexandra III Bridge, where the race is set to begin.

That’s double the level needed for “good” water quality, as per World Triathlon standards.

For much of the month before the games, E. coli levels were above acceptable levels, which could expose athletes to serious health concerns. If E. Coli levels are above 1000 CFU/100mL, the swimming leg of the triathlon will have to be cancelled, according to World Triathlon competition rules, unless the organization’s medical committee decides the race can go ahead.

The individual triathlon races begin with a 1.5-kilometer swim, followed by a 40K bike race – passing by the Le Grand Palais and the Champs-Élysées – before finishing with a 10K run through the heart of the city.

A mixed team relay race involving four athletes – two men and two women – will start with each team member completing a 300-meter swim, followed by a 5.8K bike ride and 1.8K run.

CNN’s Homero De La Fuente, Kevin Dotson and Chris Liakos contributed to this report.

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