Olympic organizers have canceled a second day of triathlon training in the River Seine, which was scheduled for Monday, following weekend rains in Paris polluting the waterway.
They did, however, say they were “confident” that the medal events will take place this week.
In a joint statement, Paris 2024 organizers and World Triathlon announced the cancellation of Monday’s swimming training session due to “water quality levels… do not present sufficient guarantees” to allow it to take place.
The triathlon will be the first Olympic event to take place on the Seine, followed by marathon swimming in the second week of the Games.
A swimming training session scheduled for Sunday was also canceled owing to high pollution levels. The men’s individual triathlon is set to begin on Tuesday at 8:00 a.m. (0600 GMT), while the women’s solo event will take place on Wednesday.
The quality of the Seine’s water is determined by the amount of rain that falls in and around Paris.
The Paris 2024 organizers and World Triathlon, on the other hand, stated that they were “confident” that water quality would improve adequately before the start of the competition on Tuesday, based on the weather forecast for the following 48 hours.
If it rains, the Paris 2024 organizers may postpone the outdoor swimming events for several days. As a last resort, they plan to postpone the triathlon’s swimming component and relocate the marathon swim to Vaires-sur-Marne, on the Marne River east of Paris.
Over the previous decade, French authorities have invested $1.5 billion in the Seine’s cleanup.
