- Looming issues persist with the Seine: more challenges on the horizon.
Bummer - at least for now. Instead of taking a dip in the Seine River in the heart of Paris, triathlon ace Martin Schulz was stuck on the Pont Alexandre III, waiting until at least Monday to attempt defending his Paralympic gold medal. That is, if the water quality improves by then.
For the German flag bearer and two-time gold medalist Schulz, the abrupt delay on Sunday came as a shock. "The water had been okay recently," he mentioned. However, he suspected something was amiss when his coach, Tom Kosmehl, didn't rise from bed at his usual hour. Kosmehl, who typically wakes up at 4 a.m., was reading a message from the federation informing him that the medal ceremonies had been postponed.
No one anticipated the event to be rescheduled for Monday, Schulz stated. "Yes, it rained a bit, but we were told that the rainfall wouldn't significantly impact the water."
Rain generally increases pollution in rivers. New tests revealed poor results, causing the World Para Swimming, the organizing committee, and the respective French authorities to decide to give the water an additional day to recover. Especially since the sun was shining brightly in Paris and no more rain was predicted.
Another storm brewing
Meanwhile, the Paris organizers are once again encountering a potential issue. €1.4 billion was invested in sewage treatment plants and the wastewater system to make swimming possible in the heart of Paris.
Initially, the eleven races were scheduled over two days, but they were moved to Sunday due to weather forecasts. Now, there's another change in plans. If the water quality fails to improve, the triathlon could still take place on Tuesday, or they could opt for a duathlon consisting of cycling and running only.
Schulz, 34, isn't too excited about the latter option. "I personally am not very sensitive, and I believe the others also desire to swim in the Seine before we have to engage in a duathlon," he said. He just hopes everything is fair.
"The values are slightly above the limit, but they are above the limit," Kosmehl explained. "I informed the athletes, we're turning the clock back 24 hours, so they'll go through their preparations again."
However, official training on Saturday was already cancelled, Schulz confirmed. "But that was more of a precaution," he said. "They're being extremely careful, which is good. We're accepting it as it is."
Despite the sunshine and lack of further rain predictions, new tests revealed poor water quality in the Seine River, leading to a postponement of the triathlon until Monday for Martin Schulz and other athletes. Regrettably, Germany is affected by this unexpected situation in the heart of Paris for their Paralympic event.
