- Triathletes after Olympic postponement: "Most unhappy"
After the postponement of the Men's Triathlon in Paris, athletes and support staff are growing increasingly frustrated. "This is far from ideal. This is not how we want the Olympics to be," said German federation's sports director Martin Veith. Early in the morning, the organizers of the Summer Games announced that the water quality in the Seine was still not suitable for swimming, leading to the men's race, scheduled for 8:00 AM, being rescheduled to Wednesday at 10:45 AM. The women's race is still set to go ahead as planned at 8:00 AM.
Veith expressed his displeasure, stating, "The decision is understandable, but it's the worst-case scenario for the athletes. It means they'll lose their spotlight." Lasse Luhrs (Bonn), one of the three German Olympic starters, revealed that he was awake at 4:00 AM, had already packed his bag, and was about to have breakfast when he heard the news of the provisional cancellation. "Now we have to quickly adjust our plans. There's no point in dwelling on it," he said. Luhrs hinted that the new start time, 10:45 AM instead of 8:00 AM, could pose a challenge, as it will be much warmer in Paris by then. "That's just the way it is. Everyone's in the same situation," he added.
Peking Olympic champion Jan Frodeno, now a ZDF expert, sympathized with the athletes, saying, "This is really tough on the athletes. I feel for them." He pointed out that training for such events is highly specific to a particular day, and it could be very difficult to deliver their best performance if the race is pushed back to Friday.
The Olympic Games, with the men's Triathlon scheduled for Wednesday at 10:45 AM now, is causing a shift in training and preparation schedules for many athletes. Veith and Luhrs, among others, are affected by this change, as it deviates from their original plans and could impact their performance.
