- River water too dirty: Men's triathlon postponed
The men's triathlon at the Olympic Games in Paris has been postponed due to polluted waters in the Seine. After two training sessions had already been cancelled, the event scheduled for this morning (8:00 AM) had to be cancelled as well. The new date is Wednesday morning (10:45 AM). The women's race is still scheduled to take place as planned (8:00 AM).
Concerns about the event have been growing for days. Heavy rainfall on Friday and Saturday has polluted the river Seine. Microbiological tests showed that the water quality limits had been exceeded, leading to the cancellation of both planned training sessions for men and women. Early Tuesday morning, the international triathlon governing body confirmed that the water had not improved enough.
Three Germans to wait
The triathletes, including the three Germans Tim Hellwig (Saarbrücken), Jonas Schomburg (Hannover), and Lasse Luhrs (Bonn), will have to wait. Germany is also represented by three athletes in the women's race: Nina Eim, Laura Lindemann, and Lisa Tertsch.
Despite the efforts to clean the river water, it remained unfit for the triathlon. dimensions of bacteria in the river water were still above the permitted levels.
