The tests are due to take place on Sunday, around the Pont Alexandre-III.
France Télévisions – Sports Editorial
Published on 31/08/2024 00:02
Reading time: 1 min
The last training session in the Seine ahead of the paratriathlon, which was due to take place on Saturday, the day before the Paralympic events, has been cancelled. “as a precautionary measure” said the Paris 2024 organizing committee, as the rain returned on Friday, August 30. The decision was made in the evening, after a meeting attended by the World Triathlon Federation and the authorities involved in carrying out water quality tests on the Seine.
“This decision was taken as a precautionary measure”the committee said in a statement to AFP, “taking into account that, despite the latest available laboratory results which show that the water quality is good, it is likely that the rain will have an impact tomorrow morning”SATURDAY.
The paratriathletes, who are scheduled to start on Sunday from the Pont Alexandre-III, were able to complete two training sessions, on Thursday and Friday morning, before the rain fell. The 11 paratriathlon events at the Paralympic Games were originally scheduled to be held over two days, on September 1 and 2. They were ultimately grouped together on a single day “in view of the weather forecast”the organizers had already indicated on Thursday.
The quality of the Seine’s water has been at the heart of discussions for weeks, as swimming in the Parisian river is to be part of the great legacies of the Olympic and Paralympic Games. During the Games, several triathlon and open water swimming training sessions were cancelled and the men’s triathlon was postponed by a day due to water that was unsuitable for swimming. The blame lies in heavy rainfall. To give the green light to the competitions, the authorities are closely monitoring two levels of faecal bacteria: E. coli and enterococci.