The International Olympic Committee said that the men's triathlon event scheduled for Tuesday has been postponed due to concerns over the water quality in the Seine River. The postponement came after officials detected high levels of E. coli in the river.
The postponement comes following assurances that the Seine River would be safe for participants.
The men's triathlon event is now scheduled for Wednesday. The women's triathlon event, which was already scheduled for Wednesday, is still slated to occur.
Marisol Casado, president of World Triathlon, said she was disappointed about the decision but was "quite confident" the event would still transpire on Wednesday.
Aurélie Merle, executive director of Sports for Paris 2024, told reporters that the decision was made after conducting four river tests and finding that three of the tests indicated unsafe pollution levels. She suggested that rain from July 26 and 27 caused poor water quality in the Seine.
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She added that additional testing would be conducted Wednesday at 3:30 a.m. to confirm whether the river would be safe for athletes.
When asked about why officials believe the river could potentially be safe on Wednesday, but not on Tuesday, Merle said, "We were very close to the threshold (set) by World Triathlon."
"We know that the sun and the heat have a very strong impact on the quality of the water so that's why we feel because we were so close this morning that we believe that the water quality will be better," Merle said.
Swimming in Paris' most famed waterway has been banned for over 100 years due to pollution from factory wastewater, sewage, and rain runoff.
However, the government has spent nearly $1.5 billion to prepare the Seine for the Olympics by fixing old pipes, limiting the amount of untreated wastewater going into the river, and building a wastewater and rainwater storage basin.
The triathlon involves a 1,500-meter swim, a 40-kilometer cycle and a 10-kilometer run. The Seine is also expected to be the site of next week's marathon swimming event, which involves a 10-kilometer swim. There is also a mixed triathlon event scheduled for next week.
