Training sessions scheduled for July 29 on the Seine for the Paris Olympic Games events scheduled to take place on the river have been cancelled for the second day in a row due to poor water quality.
In a statement, the Paris Olympic Organising Committee (COJOP) and the International Triathlon Federation said that the decision was taken this morning after holding a meeting with the meteorological service Météo France, with the City of Paris and with the Prefecture of the Ile de France region.
In their statement, they explain that the analyses carried out on July 28 in the river show that “They do not offer sufficient guarantees“because of the rain that fell on Friday and Saturday and that “the priority is the health of the athletes.”
The problem is that when the flow of water in the Seine increases due to rain, the water from the precipitation causes the sewers to overflow and ends up being dumped into the river without passing through the treatment plants, and the river becomes contaminated by fecal bacteria.
In any case, the COJOP and the Federation are optimistic in pointing out that “given the weather forecast for the next 36 hours“With no further rain expected, they are confident that “water quality will return to below the limits before the start of the triathlon competitions on July 30.”
They add that in summer conditions, with more sun and higher temperatures, “the quality of the Seine has improved significantly.”
The triathlon swimming event is scheduled for the river on July 30 for men, July 31 for women, and August 5 for the mixed relay.
The open water marathons for men and women are also to be held at the Seine on 31 and 5 August.
All of this is part of the Paris 2024 strategy to ensure that the capital’s most emblematic locations are the stars of the Games.
French administrations have invested more than US$1.4 billion since 2016 in an ambitious plan to improve water quality and make it possible to swim in the stretch of river that runs through Paris from the summer of 2025, something that has not been possible for a century.
On July 17, the Mayor of Paris appeared in front of cameras and dozens of journalists alongside the head of the Paris 2024 Games Organising Committee, Tony Estanguet, and the prefect (government delegate) in the Ile de France region, to show that it was possible.
However, on Friday it became known that the water did not meet the health conditions established by the health authorities last year.
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