News at 4:30 a.m. Triathlon start at the Olympics canceled
The men's triathlon at the Olympic Games in Paris has been postponed due to polluted water in the Seine. Concerns about the event have been growing for days. Heavy rain on Friday and Saturday has polluted the water of the Paris river.
The men's Olympic triathlon has been postponed by a day to Wednesday due to poor water quality in the Seine. The organizers announced this just a few hours before the scheduled start of the race. Heavy rain over the weekend has again led to "values above the limit," according to a statement. Training on Sunday and Monday was also canceled.
The men's competition will now begin at 10:45 a.m. on Wednesday, immediately following the women's decision at 8:00 a.m. However, this is contingent on "the next tests meeting the standards," the organizing committee and World Triathlon announced. The health of the athletes is the top priority. The triathletes' competitions are the first to take place in the river of Paris. Open water swimmers like Florian Wellbrock and Leonie Beck are also scheduled to compete in the Seine on August 8 and 9.
"At 4:30 a.m., I received the news that the race was postponed. I had already packed my bag and was about to have breakfast," said Lasse Luhrs. The Olympic debutant, who, like Tim Hellwig and Jonas Schomburg, is representing Germany, had woken up at 4:00 a.m. "Then I went back to bed and tried to get some more sleep, which worked more or less. Now we have to adjust as quickly as possible. The situation is the same for everyone. It's pointless to get upset about it," he said.
Even before the start of the Games, the water quality had repeatedly caused concern. Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo and event director Tony Estanguet, for example, took a dip in the Seine to prove that the river was clean enough.
In recent years, the French state has invested about 1.4 billion euros to clean up the Seine. This involved connecting numerous households to the sewage system, which had previously discharged their wastewater directly into the Seine and its tributaries. A large overflow basin was also built in Paris to prevent the sewage system from flooding the Seine during heavy rain. However, due to the rainy early summer, some water samples are still above the threshold values, for example for E. coli bacteria. There have been numerous sarcastic comments about the Seine, dubbed the "toilet of Paris," on online services.
The postponement of the Olympic Games 2024 triathlon event in Paris affects not only the men's competition but also the women's and open water swimmers, such as Florian Wellbrock and Leonie Beck, scheduled for August 8 and 9. The organizers are closely monitoring the water quality to ensure it meets standards before the rescheduled event.
Despite the postponement, the International Olympic Committee remains committed to maintaining the high health and safety standards for all athletes, ensuring a successful Olympic Games 2024 in Paris.
