Organizers say they are confident that levels will improve. They have alternative plans.
The trainings for triathlon competition at the Paris Olympic Games they have postponed this Monday for the second consecutive day due to the poor quality of the water in the Seine River, where the competition is scheduled to take place.
The men’s triathlon is scheduled for Tuesday, while the women’s event is set for Wednesday. The organizers insisted that “they trust” that the triathlon events will be held as planned.
A risky measure
This is a risky measure, since the presence of bacteria increases after strong rainslike those that fell in Paris during the opening ceremony on Friday And the saturday.
Storms regularly overwhelm the sewerage system of the city, which dates back to the 19th century, causing effluent discharges without directly treating the river. Some 1.4 billion euros have been spent trying to clean the river before the Olympic Games.
The Mayor of Paris, Anne Hidalgo, and the French Minister of Sports, Amélie Oudéa-Castéra, They took a dip in the river at the beginning of the month to try to convince the public that the Seine is clean enough for athletes.
If things don’t get better, then what?
Local authorities say that they will continue to postpone the races until water quality improves.
However, they are expected storms for Wednesday and Thursday, which could further aggravate bacteria levels. In that case, plan C is that the triathlon becomes a duathlonwhich means that triathletes will only participate in the cycling and running sections.
As for the marathon swimming events planned in the Seine on August 8 and 9, the city has another plan D in motion: if the Seine is too pollutedthe marathon will be held in one of the nautical stadiums on the outskirts of Paris.
