Swimming competition canceled in Paris due to poor water quality in Seine

Paris Olympics organizers and other officials have canceled a paratriathlon swimming test event Saturday in the Seine River because of new concerns about water quality, Report informs referring to AFP.

The competition was transformed into a duathlon instead, involving just running and biking. The cancellation is a fresh blow both to organizers of the 2024 Summer Games and to the city’s ambitions to reopen the iconic river to public swimming after next year’s Olympics.

Swimmers took to the Seine in competition on Thursday and Friday, but results of water quality tests showed "significant discrepancies” in the hours leading up to August 19 events, organizers said in a statement.

It said officials from World Triathlon, the Paris Olympics, Paris City Hall and the Paris region jointly decided to cancel Saturday’s events "as a measure of precaution, to not put the health and safety of the athletes in danger.”

A previous test event had to be canceled earlier his month because heavy rain had caused overflows of untreated waste in the Seine, leaving water quality below safety standards. Rainfall also hit Paris ahead of August 19 cancellation.

New tests will be conducted and a decision will be made early August 20 on whether Sunday’s swimming events can be held as scheduled, organizers said.