Swim course reccy Olympics cancelled, poor water quality makes swim impossible

Olympic triathletes will not be jumping into the water of the Seine today – if they would have wanted to – to explore the swim course: the latest water tests showed too poor water quality, and so the swim course reccy has been cancelled. Just two days before the first Olympic triathlon, this is bad news.

It may be bad news, but it is not unexpected. The water quality of the Seine has been a topic of conversation for months, and despite an investment of 1.5 billion euros, Paris just can’t seem to improve the water quality of their most famous river. As a result, the Olympic triathlons next Tuesday (men) and Wednesday (women) are simply in question.

Yesterday it was revealed that World Triathlon is taking into account an alternative scenario, whereby both Olympic triathlons would be postponed to Friday, Aug. 2. The Mixed Team Relay would then be moved by one day, from Aug. 5 to Aug. 6. Why water quality would suddenly be better on those days is unclear. A duathlon format is also still on the table as an alternative scenario.