The poor quality of the water of the Seine river in Paris caused this Sunday the cancellation, for the third time, of a sporting event that was going to be a test for the 2024 Olympic Games.
The swimming competition, part of the mixed triathlon relay event, has been cancelled, the organizers of the Paris Olympic Games and the international triathlon federation confirmed in a joint statement.
“Given the persistence of discrepancies in the results of the water quality analyses, a joint decision was made to change the mixed relay event to a duathlon event,” the statement said.
The same solution, a test that only includes cycling and running, had already been taken on Saturday, for the paratriathlon test, for athletes with physical disabilities.
With less than a year to go until the Olympics, this is the third test event affected by river water quality in two weeks: Earlier this month, the open water swimming event was canceled twice.
On all three occasions, the decision was made due to the presence of untreated waste in the Seine, something that happens regularly when the French capital experiences heavy rains.
The Seine is the place chosen for the swimming marathon of the next Summer Games and the swimming stage of the Olympic and Paralympic triathlon.
The French capital is spending big on water management projects that authorities say will make storm surges less frequent.
“By 2024, new infrastructure will be built to further improve stormwater treatment to improve water quality,” Paris Olympic organizers and city officials said earlier this month.
These public works include a giant underground reservoir in Paris that will store excess water during storms so it doesn’t have to be dumped untreated into the river and can be treated later.
Parisian authorities also said the schedule for Olympic events on the river could be adjusted next year if water quality prevents them from taking place on the original dates.
According to the statement, recent weather conditions were “exceptional” as the Paris region recorded the heaviest summer rains since 1965.
Source: TSF
