Paris (AFP)
Paris Olympics organisers have cancelled mixed triathlon practice after heavy rains made the waterway unsuitable for swimming.
Only running and cycling exercises will take place as scheduled, the organizers announced in a statement.
Swimming practices for the competition scheduled for Monday were cancelled due to “heavy rains over the last two days, which were particularly intense downstream from Paris, and the resulting poor water quality.”
French authorities have spent 1.4 billion euros ($1.5 billion) in the past decade trying to clean up the river, by improving Paris’ sewage system as well as building new water treatment and storage facilities.
But heavy rains continue to overwhelm sewage networks, leading to untreated water being discharged into the river.
Water cleanliness has been a major focus of the current Games, and contamination led to the men’s and women’s individual triathlons being postponed for 24 hours on Tuesday. The men and women eventually swam after contamination levels were deemed “compliant.”
The weather has been extremely volatile at the Paris Olympics so far, ranging from a blistering heatwave to heavy rain, especially during last week’s opening ceremony, which was held on the River Seine, the first time in the history of the Games that it was held outside the main stadium.
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