PARIS — The men’s triathlon race, set to take place Tuesday morning, has been delayed a day due to unsafe water pollution levels in the River Seine, Olympics organizers said.
But the International Olympic Committee and World Triathlon, the sport’s governing body, said on Tuesday that tests taken in the morning “revealed water quality levels that did not provide sufficient guarantees to allow the event to be held.”
Officials blamed “meteorological events beyond our control” for the delay, citing the rain that fell on Friday (the day of the opening ceremony) and Saturday.
While water quality had improved since then, readings at some points on the swim course remained above acceptable levels, they said.
The men’s race is now scheduled for Wednesday morning, a few hours after the women’s triathlon.
Cleaning up the notoriously dirty Seine has been a decades-long goal, dating back to the 1990s. The effort accelerated after Olympics organizers announced plans to hold the triathlon and long-distance swimming events in the Seine. The French government, over nine years, has invested more than $1.5 billion into the effort.
Heavy rains overwhelm the city’s antiquated sewer system, leaking untreated sewage into the Seine and hiking up rates of E. coli bacteria.
The waters have been tested daily, and met cleanliness standards in the days leading up to the Games. Less than two weeks ago, Paris’ mayor took a swim in the Seine to demonstrate the water’s safety.
Marisol Casado, president of World Triathlon, said at a press conference that the organization is prioritizing the health of the athletes and said she was confident that the rescheduled competition would go ahead on Wednesday.
Organizers have set aside Friday as a backup day for the triathlon competition in the event of another delay.
If the river water quality continues to fall short of standards, organizers have proposed postponing the swimming portion of the triathlon. As a last resort, they could cancel the swimming leg entirely to hold duathlon with only running and biking.
A particularly wet Parisian summer has forced a series of disruptions for swimmers and other athletes. Practice for the swim leg of the triathlon was scrapped for the second day in a row on Monday due to Seine pollution. A men's street skateboarding event was also put off after rain soaked the park course while delays hit the tennis courts at Roland Garros.
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