A spectator photographs the Seine River during the Opening Ceremony of the 2024 Paris Olympics.
Paris Olympics organizers canceled the triathlon swimming training session for the second day in a row on Monday after recent heavy rain affected water quality levels in the Seine.
Sunday’s training session was also canceled after tests carried out in the Seine on Saturday showed water quality did not meet the required threshold. The running and bike training sessions remain unaffected.
“Given the weather forecast for the next 36 hours, Paris 2024 and World Triathlon are confident that water quality will return to below limits before the start of the triathlon competitions on July 30,” the organizers said in a statement on Monday.
If the water quality does not change ahead of the triathlon competitions, organizers have proposed two potential solutions. The first backup plan is to postpone the swimming portion of the triathlon. The second backup plan is to cancel to swimming portion of the triathlon and hold a duathlon instead featuring just the running and biking portions of the competition.
UPDATE: A final call on whether Tuesday’s race will go ahead will be made at 4 a.m. Parisian time, based on samples from the river taken 24 hours before.
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