As the mixed relay competition got underway on Monday morning, Olympic triathletes dove into the Seine River, following the announcement by the organizers that the bacteria levels in the heavily contaminated Paris canal were within acceptable bounds.
It was an ambitious proposal to stage the marathon swimming races and the swimming portion of triathlons in the Seine. With a few exceptions, swimming in the river has not been permitted since 1923 due to its high toxicity.
Reviewing water tests on Sunday night were representatives from the International Olympic Committee, the World Triathlon Organization, the Paris Games organizers, and local and meteorological authorities.
After one of its competitors who had swum in the river the previous week became ill, Belgium’s Olympic committee stated on Sunday that it would withdraw its team from the mixed relay triathlon. This decision allowed the event to proceed with the swims in the Seine. It was unclear if her swim in the Seine contributed to her sickness.
Paris improved its river infrastructure by spending 1.4 billion euros ($1.5 billion) to make it cleaner. This involved improving wastewater treatment facilities and repairing sewer infrastructure, as well as building a massive basin to collect surplus rainfall and prevent effluent from pouring into the river.
During the Games, there have been intermittent heavy downpours that have caused organizers headaches since they have increased the amount of fecal bacteria that are streaming into the river, including enterococci and E. coli. Except for some little rain on Saturday evening, the weather had been dry until Thursday night when torrential rains poured.
Athletes reported that officials informed them there were no worries regarding the quality of the water as the event took place on Monday under a brilliant sun.
Prior to each event, which will feature a swim in the Seine, organizers had maintained their confidence that mild temperatures and the sun’s UV rays would kill enough bacteria.
Men’s and women’s individual triathlon competitors swam in the river on Wednesday; however, the men’s competition was postponed due to poor water quality. Training sessions for the relay race have been canceled due to elevated levels of germs in the waterway.
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E. coli and other fecal bacteria are measured in daily water quality checks. A 2006 European Union directive and the World Triathlon water safety guidelines offer qualitative ratings to different E. Coli levels.
E. Coli levels up to 1,000 colony-forming units per 100 milliliters are deemed “good” by World Triathlon and permit races to continue.
Each participant in the triathlon mixed relay competes in three separate events: swimming for 300 meters (yards), cycling for 6.8 kilometers (4.2 miles), and running for 2 kilometers (1.2 miles). Teams of four consist of two men and two women.
