Paris Olympics 2024: Seine River pollution forces triathlon training cancellation
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Despite a decade-long investment of 1.4 billion euros ($1.5 billion) by French authorities to clean up the Seine River, recent heavy rainfall has led to pollution concerns, prompting Olympic organizers to cancel part of the triathlon training scheduled for Saturday.
The Paris 2024 organizers announced that only the running and cycling components of the triathlon mixed relay training would proceed, citing deteriorated water quality due to intense upstream rainfall over the past two nights.
The substantial cleanup efforts have included the construction of major new water treatment and storage facilities in and around Paris. However, heavy downpours continue to overwhelm the city’s underground drains and sewage system, causing untreated sewage to flow into the river.
The fluctuating water quality has been a recurring issue at the Paris Games. Earlier in the week, pollution concerns forced a 24-hour delay of the men’s triathlon event. Fortunately, both the men’s and women’s triathlon events proceeded on Wednesday after pollution levels were deemed acceptable.
The weather during the Paris Games has been notably erratic, ranging from heatwaves to heavy rain, which notably disrupted the opening ceremony with torrential downpours.