Olympic triathlon competition postponed due to polluted Seine
The Olympic swimming competition for men’s triathlon, which starts on Tuesday morning, has been postponed due to pollution of the River Seine.
The subject of a running joke since the release of Xavier Gens’ hit shark film ‘Under Paris’ on Netflix, the Seine is said to be clean enough for the triathlon and marathon races. Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo had promised months ago to make water quality safe enough for athletes and locals to swim in. The ambitious project to clean up the notoriously toxic river cost more than $1.5 billion but was quickly plagued by scorn and even a social media campaign #JeChieDansLaSeine, which encouraged Parisians to defecate in the water earlier this month.
The mayor of Paris went swimming in the Seine on July 17 (wearing a wetsuit and goggles) with Tony Estanguet, the gold medal-winning French slalom canoeist who chairs the Olympic Games organizing committee, to stoke enthusiasm and show that it was safe enough. But it turns out the Seine is still heavily polluted, according to daily water tests measuring levels of a fecal bacteria known as E. coli.
Local media have reported that heavy rain on July 26 – mainly during the opening ceremony – caused levels of E. coli and other bacteria to rise in the Seine. This had already resulted in two training days (on Sunday and Monday) being cancelled. The men’s triathlon has now been temporarily moved to Wednesday and could also be moved to Friday if necessary.
The pouring rain during the opening ceremony also forced Lady Gaga to pre-record her performance for safety reasons. Maud le Pladec, the choreographer and head of dance for the Olympic and Paralympic Games who worked with Gaga for months, said her show was almost canceled due to weather conditions.
