Brave effort in brutal conditions not enough for Team SA triathletes as races go ahead in Seine

Cassandre Beaugrand of France celebrates after the Women Individual race of the Triathlon competitions in the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, at the Pont Alexandre III in Paris, France, 31 July 2024. EPA-EFE/TOLGA AKMEN

By Gary Lemke in Paris

31 Jul 2024

South Africa’s triathletes battled in tough conditions at the Paris Olympic Games.

Conditions both in and out of the water were unforgiving, to put it mildly, as the best of the best took to the water for the Paris 2024 Olympic triathlon event on Wednesday.

The race had been postponed by 24 hours because of dangerous E. coli levels in the River Seine and understandably athletes were concerned about the state of the water.

triathlon paris seine Athletes dive into the Seine during the women’s triathlon in the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, at the Pont Alexandre III in Paris, France, 31 July 2024. (Photo: EPA-EFE / Tolga Akmen)

The Team SA trio trusted in the scientists, but Henri Schoeman (who finished 20th) and Jamie Riddle (25th) admitted the delay hadn’t been ideal in terms of mental preparation.

However, of more significance was the actual swimming conditions rather than the quality of the water. Schoeman again used his background and track record in the swim to transition to cycling in second place.

“Conditions were tough, but my lifesaving background came in handy when it came to going round the buoys. I made up good time around the buoys,” Schoeman said.

“I tried to make it as hard as I could. On the bike, it was about conserving energy, and on the run, I thought I could go for a medal, but I found myself lacking that speed.”

Riddle pointed to the current in the 22°C water. “I’m from Jeffreys Bay and grew up swimming in big waves and strong currents, so I was prepared, but still, its strength surprised me.

“It was so hot throughout the event (29°C) and when I got out of the water, my legs were cramping going up the stairs, so I knew then it would be a long day.

“Ultimately, becoming an Olympian has been a 12-year dream and my one goal was to enjoy it. I did just that and can’t wait for Los Angeles when I’ll be in my prime at 28,” said Riddle.

Decisions to be made

While it was Riddle’s first Games, it was Schoeman’s third, having won bronze at Rio 2016. Riddle seems certain to be in the mix for the 2026 Commonwealth Games and 2028 Olympics, while for Schoeman there are still decisions to be made.

First and foremost is getting home to his wife, who is due to give birth to their second child, a boy, on 12 August. After that, he wants to “try another challenge. Maybe middle distance. I’m not ruling out anything going forward and in fact feel like I’m getting better all the time since recovering from my injury, having broken my ankle in Tokyo.”

In the women’s race, which started nearly three hours earlier than the men’s, South Africa’s Vicky van der Merwe was carded on her debut appearance.

Van der Merwe’s race had been as good as over early on when she received a yellow card penalty and had to serve her time at the transition to the bike, watching the field get away from her.

She was 50th heading onto the bike and admits it wasn’t too long after that when she knew it wasn’t going to be her day. She finished 46th out of 55 competitors that started.

“I had a tough swim, and it applies to a lot of the girls. I nearly drowned on the swim… it’s not the conditions we’re used to,” Van der Merwe said.

“I don’t know why I got the yellow card, but when I got to my bike it was lying on the ground, so maybe it was for that.

“I didn’t want to push too hard because then I’d have nothing left for the run. I had a number (finishing position) in my mind, but it was probably halfway through the cycling leg that I knew I wouldn’t achieve that. I managed to run down a few girls later on. The crowds were simply fantastic.”

sa triathletes seine Gold medal winner Alex Yee of Great Britain poses for a photo during the medal ceremony after the men’s triathlon at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, at the Pont Alexandre III in Paris, France, 31 July 2024. (Photo: EPA-EFE / Mohammed Badra)

Gold in the women’s race went to home favourite Cassandre Beaugrand, while in the men the finish was tight, but ultimately Britain’s Alex Yee came back strongly in the final kilometre to run down New Zealand’s Hayden Wilde, with French athletes third and fourth.

Sickly feeling

Beaugrand gave some insight into the suffocating pressure that comes with being a home favourite at the Olympics when, racked by nerves, she threw up at the start of the women’s triathlon.

Less than two hours later, however, she reaped the benefits in spectacular style, surfing the wave of popular support rolling off the streets of Paris to surge clear on the run and win the country’s first medal in the sport.

Beaugrand had been in a breakaway pack of four on the 10km run leg, alongside compatriot Emma Lombardi, British world champion Beth Potter and Switzerland’s Julie Derron.

She looked comfortable and relaxed as she strode through the finish zone on the first three laps and then made her move on the final lap to come home well clear.

Beaugrand grabbed the finish tape, kissed it and collapsed to the ground. Derron chased her home for silver, with Potter taking bronze, leaving Lombardi in the worst position of all.

triathlon beaugrand Cassandre Beaugrand of France celebrates winning the women’s triathlon. (Photo: EPA-EFE / Tolga Akmen)

“I can’t find the words… it’s crazy what’s happening to me. This morning, I would never have believed it,” Beaugrand said.

“This morning, I was in total panic. I vomited before the start... It was nerves, it’s never happened to me before, and in front of the other athletes. Everyone knew I was stressed. It’s not what you want to do.

“I didn’t want to do the same as Tokyo where I was so nervous and where I lost all my faculties.”

Swimmable Seine

The races going ahead came as a relief for teams and athletes, as well as for Paris authorities who have promised residents a swimmable Seine as a long-term legacy of the Games, with the triathlon a very public test.

“We have achieved in four years what has been impossible for a century: the Seine is swimmable,” President Emmanuel Macron tweeted after the race.

The gamble that the river would be clean enough for the triathlon was never guaranteed to pay off as water quality varies widely day to day, with rainfall causing concentrations of infection-causing bacteria such as E. coli to rise.

“I have no doubts about the quality of the Seine, we’ve swum in worse water,” Beaugrand said after her victory, adding that scrapping the swim and holding a duathlon – the organisers’ last resort if the river had been too dirty – would have been “shameful” for the sport.

Riddle was less diplomatic about the water quality.

“I’m definitely going to be visiting the bathroom later… I swallowed gallons and gallons of water, so that’s gonna be a fun post-race party,” he told reporters after the men’s race. DM

Additional reporting by Reuters.

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