Both the men’s and women’s triathlons are set to take place this week at the 2024 Paris Olympics, but there is one pretty horrible problem that organizers are currently facing – the Seine River is not safe for swimming.
On Monday, organizers announced that the Olympic triathlon swimming training session has been canceled for the second consecutive day due to poor water quality in the Seine River due to pollution as a result of recent rains.
“Following a meeting on water quality held [Monday] … a joint decision was taken to cancel the swim leg of the triathlon familiarization which was due to be held on 29 July at 8am,” read a joint statement from Paris 2024 organizers and governing body World Triathlon, according to Yahoo Sports.
“Paris 2024 and World Triathlon reiterates that the priority is the health of the athletes. The tests carried out in the Seine [Sunday] revealed water quality levels that in the view of the international federation, World Triathlon, did not provide sufficient guarantees to allow the event to be held.”
While the cancelations were just training sessions, the men’s triathlon competition is set to begin on Tuesday with the women’s competition set for Wednesday, so there’s a real chance that the river might not be safe for swimming in time for the competitions.
Needless to say, this is a pretty horrible situation, and it’s led to a lot of reactions on social media.
This is an example of how ridiculous we are about sports in this world: Planning an Olympic race in a river that includes high measurements of sewage. https://t.co/HpPfpF0hsu
— Josh Smith (@JoshuaR_Smith) July 29, 2024
That river is never gonna be swimmable https://t.co/plJj92IsUY
— Tom (@TAizenberg) July 29, 2024
Yeaa I blame the French for this, what a disaster. #Paris2024 https://t.co/6LZqFGtgxH
— Lets talk sports with Phillip Newsome (@LTSWPN) July 29, 2024
Beyond embarrassing https://t.co/x8lI09ZCaA
— PNWsportsandhealth (@windyinthe509) July 29, 2024
Maybe triathlon will be completely canceled
Paris not ready for it
— HeavenBound (@gospelsongsng) July 29, 2024
Were they just praying it would clear up this week after 100 years
— Mike Brazell (@BrazellMike) July 29, 2024
It has been illegal to swim in the Seine River for over a century due to poor water quality and pollution, but Paris spent $1.5 billion in an effort to clean the water for the triathlon and marathon swimming events.
