Paris Olympics: triathlon, which includes Hongkonger, postponed over River Seine pollution
- If by Friday the water quality is still not good enough the swim leg will be scrapped and athletes will compete in a duathlon instead
The men’s triathlon at the Paris Olympics will not go ahead as planned on Tuesday as pollution levels in the Seine remain too high, World Triathlon said in a statement, dealing a blow to organisers and leaving athletes facing more uncertainty.
The race was postponed to Wednesday at 10:45am (16.45pm Hong Kong time), immediately after the women’s event, which is scheduled for 8am (14pm) that day.
Organisers previously said they were confident water quality would improve in time for the race after heavy rains last Friday and Saturday dirtied the river.
Hong Kong’s Jason Ng Tai-long had been scheduled to compete.
“Despite the improvement of water quality levels over the last hours, the readings at some points of the swim course are still above the acceptable limits,” they said early on Tuesday. “Paris 2024 and World Triathlon reiterate that their priority is the health of the athletes.”
Should levels of bacteria remain too high by Wednesday morning both the men’s and women’s races are likely to be postponed to Friday, the contingency day reserved for the events.