fly — PARIS (AP) — Olympic triathletes jumped into the Seine River Monday morning as the mixed relay race began, despite organizers saying bacteria levels in the long-polluted Paris waterway were within acceptable levels.
The idea of holding triathlon and marathon swimming races on the Seine was an ambitious one. Swimming in the river has been banned since 1923, with a few exceptions, because the river is so toxic.
Representatives from World Triathlon and the International Olympic Committee, Paris Games organizers, and local and meteorological authorities met Sunday night to review water quality tests. The results showed that water quality at the triathlon venue had improved in the past few hours and would be within World Triathlon’s required limits by Monday morning, they said in a statement.
The decision to allow swimming in the Seine River came after the Belgian Olympic Committee announced on Sunday that it would withdraw its team from the mixed relay triathlon after one of its competitors fell ill after swimming in the river last week. It was unclear whether her illness was related to swimming in the Seine River.
Paris has spent €1.4 billion ($1.5 billion) on infrastructure improvements to clean the rivers that run through its center. This includes building massive basins to collect excess rainwater and keep wastewater from flowing into the rivers, revamping sewer infrastructure, and upgrading wastewater treatment plants.
The constant torrential rain during the games caused a headache for organizers, with high levels of faecal bacteria, including E. coli and Enterococcus. There was heavy rain Thursday night, but other than a light rain Saturday evening, it was otherwise dry. The sun shone brightly as the games began on Monday, and players said organizers had reassured them that there were no concerns about water quality.
Organizers continued to express confidence that the warm temperatures and the sun’s UV rays would combine to kill enough germs ahead of each event, which included swimming in the Seine.
Athletes swam in the river on Wednesday for the men’s and women’s individual triathlons, but the men’s race was postponed a day due to water quality. High bacteria levels in the water forced the swimming portion of the relay event training session to be canceled.
Daily water quality testing measures faecal bacteria levels, including E. coli. The World Triathlon Water Safety Guidelines and the 2006 European Union Directive assign qualitative values to various E. coli levels.
According to the World Triathlon guidelines, a test result of less than 1,000 colony forming units (CFU) per 100 milliliters of E. coli is considered ‘good’ and the race can proceed.
The triathlon mixed relay involves four-person teams of two men and two women, each of whom swims 300 meters (yards), bikes 6.8 kilometers (4.2 miles), and runs 2 kilometers (1.2 miles).
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AP Olympics: https://apnews.com/hub/2024-paris-olympic-games
