The men’s Olympic triathlon planned for Tuesday has been postponed over concerns about water quality in Paris’ Seine River, where the swimming portion of the race was supposed to take place.

Organizers said they will try to hold the men’s triathlon Wednesday instead. The women’s competition is also scheduled on Wednesday, but both are subject to water tests. Friday is also planned as a backup date.

But Meteo-France, the French weather service, was forecasting storms Tuesday night, light rain Wednesday afternoon and storms Thursday, which could complicate rescheduling the events.

  • @njm1314@lemmy.world
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    5710 months ago

    Wow the Seine might be dirty and unhygienic. That seems completely out of left field. No way to have seen this coming.

    • @WhatAmLemmy@lemmy.world
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      10 months ago

      After reading several headlines about the poor water quality over the last 6-12 months, this one is perfection — chef’s kiss.

    • @ShinkanTrain@lemmy.ml
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      10 months ago

      Next thing you know they’ll cancel the swimming events they scheduled inside an active volcano

  • @BaronVonBort@lemmy.world
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    2410 months ago

    That they didn’t have a backup route is baffling. They’ve been testing the levels for months and they had to have known they weren’t going to be at safe levels in time. I commend the ecological work to clean the river but you shouldn’t punish these athletes because your waterway is gross.

  • @Gsus4@mander.xyz
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    10 months ago

    The olympic Surf competition is happening on the other side of the World in Tahiti. Are you telling me France does not have a backup lake to do this in anywhere? After 6 years of planning? Do it in lake Geneva or Étang de Berre…jfc

    • @fubarx@lemmy.ml
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      910 months ago

      The whole point of a triathlon is to run, bike, and swim. It won’t be easy moving it elsewhere and closing the roadways, setting up security, and shuttling participants and staff on short notice.

      Hopefully they have a Plan B.