Paris diary, day three: Polluted Seine threatens to dilute Triathlon

One of the biggest questions through the opening days of Paris 2024 has been, how clean is the Seine?

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Published Jul 30

A general view of the pontoon used by Triathlon athletes moored on the River Seine, Paris, on the second day of the 2024 Paris Olympic Games in France. Poor water quality in the Seine caused swimming training for the triathlon to be cancelled on Sunday but organisers remain confident the races will be able to go ahead as scheduled. Picture date: Sunday July 28, 2024. PA Photo. Photo credit should read: Mike Egerton/PA Wire...RESTRICTIONS: Use subject to restrictions. Editorial use only, no commercial use without prior consent from rights holder..

The answer, which arrived a little before dawn on Tuesday morning, was not clean enough. 4.30am local time, to be precise, was the moment organisers had to admit defeat.

Tests confirmed levels of E-coli in the river were too high, forcing the postponement of the men’s triathlon less than four hours before it was due to start. Competitors who had set their alarms early, including British medal prospect Alex Yee, presumably went back to sleep. That’s if they weren’t too angry.

“We’ve been treated like puppets in a puppet show,” stormed Belgium’s Marten Van Riel. “If the priority was the health of the athletes this event would have been moved to another location a long time ago.”