Paris chiefs had been full of confidence that the water quality in the River Seine would allow the men’s Olympic triathlon to take place as scheduled earlier today (Tuesday July 30).
But as we all now know, that confidence proved to be misplaced and the race has been rescheduled for 10.45am local time on Wednesday, straight after the women’s race (8am).
However at the IOC press briefing on Tuesday morning (embedded below), there remained an insistence that the swim / bike / run format will still be able to take place rather than the dreaded duathlon.
Can the Seine recover in time?
Aurélie Merle, the Executive Director of Sports for Paris 2024, says the historical data still gives them plenty of hope that conditions can improve in time.
The weather forecast for Tuesday is a hot and sunny day – though there is the threat of thunderstorms later.
And Merle explained: “We have seen how quickly in previous weeks how the Seine can recover.
“We are quite hopeful because as you can see the weather conditions have been quite good over the past few days with the return of the sun and quite high temperatures [should] have a positive impact on the water quality.
“So we are hopeful we can organise these two competition events tomorrow.”
That was echoed by Marisol Casado, President of World Triathlon, who added: “At this point we are quite confident that it will happen tomorrow and then we will be very happy. All of us – and the first ones, the athletes.”
Timeline for safe swimming
But what is the process between now and the scheduled start of the women’s race at 8am if we are to get a swim, rather than another postponement?
Merle first explained how we got to where we are today: “The tests that were carried out on the Seine revealed that the water quality were not sufficient on the entirety of the course [in terms of E. coli bacteria].
“That’s why we immediately informed the athletes and their coaches as soon as a decision was taken at 4am.
“The exact numbers of the four points ranged from 980 to 1553, one below the threshold, two slightly above and one which was a bit more above.
“The sample is taken 24 hours before – actually we’ve reduced that time to 21 hours and 30 in line with World Triathlon to ensure that we have the most accurate information.”
That last point – which could be crucial with rain expected later on Tuesday in Paris – was confirmed by a World Triathlon spokesman when we sought clarification as to which test result will ‘count’ for Wednesday’s races: “It’s approximately 20-24hs from test to results, so the 5am test today is used for tomorrow.”
That means test data from 5am on Tuesday will be used to determine whether Wednesday’s planned races can go ahead. And that expected rain later on Tuesday should not impact the decision on water quality.
In short we’re left hoping that a sunny day yesterday (Monday) will have been enough to drag the figures to where they need to be. At least there is hope…
Not just about pollution
So at that point Merle says the following will again happen: “When we have this meeting at 3.30 in the morning we can also look at the trends and speak to weather forecast specialists who can provide accurate information about that.
“The sample is important but it’s not the only important thing to take that decision.”
Another key factor – even if the water quality improves – is the strength of current in the river.
World Triathlon guidelines state the race has to be rescheduled or cancelled in the case where the athletes are swimming against a swim current equal or more 1.5m/s on a straight line and equal or more 1m/s when they need to turn at any point in a 90 degrees angle or more.
All the turns on the course are 90 degree ones – click here for our full guide.
So that whole process will be repeated between now and the next 3.30am meeting on Wednesday and all eyes will again be on the weather.
On that subject, Merle added: “We had a chat with Meteo France and there is the chance there could be some storms and some rain later in the day but that they would provide us with more accurate information later so we can see where it might rain and assess that impact.
Ironically there is the chance of high temperatures now that the men’s race is set to take place at 10.45am rather than 8am but for now there seem to be relatively few concerns in terms of the World Triathlon protocols on that score.
We’ll continue to keep you fully up to date right here – and hopefully bring you in-depth coverage of two triathlon races on Wednesday…
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