In-Seine — unacceptable pollution levels force delay of men’s Olympic triathlon

Rescue personnel on a jetski on the Seine river at the location of the Men's Triathlon course near Pont Alexandre III during the Paris 2024 Olympic Games in Paris, France, 30 July 2024. The Men’s Triathlon event scheduled for 30 July has been postponed to 31 July 'due to water quality', the Olympics communications department confirmed. EPA-EFE/JOEL CARRETT AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND OUT

By Craig Ray

30 Jul 2024

Rising E. coli levels in the Seine river have led to the postponement of the men’s triathlon at the 2024 Paris Olympic Games.

The postponement of the men’s triathlon at the Olympic Games due to polluted water in the Seine has frustrated athletes and left the organisers embarrassed.

Henri Schoeman and Jamie Riddle are South Africa’s representatives in the race along with 53 other athletes from around the world. They face a tension-filled 24 hours to know whether their event will go ahead.

Riddle, who was mentally prepared for the race, posted a message on Instagram in the early hours expressing his frustration. “I honestly never thought I’d be saying this but our race has been postponed,” he posted just after 4am.

“It’s 4am here in Paris and we have just received the news that the water quality is still not good enough for us to race so they’ve moved the race to tomorrow (31 July) at 10:45am.

“It’s a bit unbelievable but there is nothing we can do. We just have to accept it. There ain’t going to be a race this morning so I will head back to bed and be ready when the time comes. Peace.”

Team South Africa’s chef de mission, Leon Fleiser, got the news early in the morning too. “I feel a bit sorry for the guys, but they can (hopefully) compete tomorrow.”

Athletes, waiting for the biggest moment of their lives, are experiencing mixed emotions in the face of Paris’ hubris. Mayor Anne Hidalgo even swam in the Seine before the Olympics started to prove its viability.

The idea of swimming in the Seine was always ambitious and potentially disastrous, but organisers persisted. Filtration stations and other measures such as wastewater infrastructure to contain sewage and minimise spillage into the water at a cost $1.51-billion (R27.9-billion) have not been adequate.

According to a report in The Conversation, detailing the steps the city has taken: “Paris has invested this money in the Marne Aval and Seine Valenton wastewater treatment plants.

“These facilities have increased the treatment capacity of the Paris sewer system and are estimated to have reduced the annual volume of untreated sewage entering the Seine from 90 million cubic metres in 2003 to 15 million in 2018.

“The city also built the Austerlitz reservoir in the 13th arrondissement, which intercepts runoff from stormwater drains and channels the water into a tank. This is supposed to delay or prevent the sewer system being overloaded.

“All moored boats on the Seine must now be connected to the sewer system to avoid raw sewage dumping, too. A €6,000 grant was offered to 20,000 Parisian households sending wastewater directly into the river to update their drainage system.”

Seine Rescue personnel on a jetski on the Seine river at the location of the men's triathlon course near Pont Alexandre III during the Paris 2024 Olympic Games in Paris on 30 July 2024. (Photo: EPA-EFE / Joel Carrett)

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But two days of heavy rain, raised sewage levels, causing spillage into the waterway and therefore rising E. coli levels, have all but scuppered the plan.

The men’s Olympic triathlon was supposed to take place on 30 July but representatives of World Triathlon and their technical and medical delegates, the International Olympic Committee (IOC), Météo France, the City of Paris and the Prefecture of the Île-de-France Region involved in carrying out water quality tests, all met at 3.30am and decided to postpone the event by 24 hours.

There are reserve days planned in the hope that E. coli levels will drop. In an extreme outcome the swimming leg of the event might be scrapped and it would become a biathlon – only running and cycling.

That option might lead to some unhappiness because swimming might be the strongest leg for certain athletes. Removing the swim leg could diminish someone’s chances of a medal.

“Considering the latest weather information, it has been decided to schedule the men’s triathlon event on 31 July at 10h45. The women’s triathlon is due to take place the same day at 8am,” the IOC said.

“Both triathlons are subject to the forthcoming water tests complying with the established World Triathlon thresholds for swimming. A contingency day remains in place for 2 August.

“Paris 2024 and World Triathlon reiterate that their priority is the health of the athletes. The tests carried out in the Seine today revealed water quality levels that did not provide sufficient guarantees to allow the event to be held.

“Unfortunately, meteorological events beyond our control, such as the rain which fell over Paris on 26 and 27 July, can alter water quality and compel us to reschedule the event for health reasons.

“Despite the improvement of water quality levels over the last hours, the readings at some points of the swim course are still above the acceptable limits.”

But even if the event takes place on 31 July, the later time slot of 10.45am means that it will be significantly hotter. Temperatures are set to reach 35°C in Paris on Wednesday and the running leg of the triathlon will take place at the hottest time of the day.

Athlete measures

While all this has been happening, athletes have been taking extraordinary measures to prepare themselves for the triathlon.

All athletes scrub and disinfect their wetsuits and they are taking higher levels of probiotics and even Coca-Cola to disinfect the mouth from any water that might take in.

Seth Rider, one of 55 triathletes entered in the men’s race, has been taking unconventional measures to prepare for exposure to bacteria.

“We know that there’s going to be some E. coli exposure, so I just try to increase my E. coli threshold by exposing myself to a bit of E. coli in [my] day-to-day life,” the US athlete said in a press conference on Saturday.

“Just little things throughout your day, like not washing your hands after you go to the bathroom and stuff like this.”

Bacteria aside, the Olympic triathlon course was conceived to maximise the wow factor, with the river swim a key element.

After diving into the Seine from a pontoon next to the Alexandre III bridge, athletes are set to race past the Musée d’Orsay and Grand Palais during the bike and run stages before ending back where they started.

Crossing the finish line on the bridge, they will be framed by stone columns topped with gilt-bronze statues of Pegasus, with the golden dome of the early 18th-century Invalides monument as a backdrop. DM

Additional reporting by Reuters

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