The Paralympic triathlon event, originally scheduled for Sunday, has been pushed back by a day due to concerns regarding the water quality of River Seine, as announced by the organizers.
"The latest analysis shows a deterioration in the water quality of the Seine following heavy rainfall over the past two days," the organisers said, as quoted by AFP.
"It was decided to schedule the 11 medal sessions of the Para triathlon on September 2," they added, following a meeting between World Triathlon, the Paris 2024 organisers, and the relevant French authorities.
The organizers had initially planned for the triathlon to take place across two days, spanning September 1 and 2. However, the event faced challenges due to water quality concerns.
The Olympic triathlon and open-water swimming events also encountered disruptions, with several practice sessions being cancelled as a result of elevated pollution levels caused by heavy rainfall.
The Olympic schedule included 11 days of events and training sessions on the river. However, due to various circumstances, only five of those days received approval to proceed as planned.
Paris had invested 1.4 billion euros ($1.5 billion) to enhance its sewerage and water treatment infrastructure. Despite these efforts, the river continued to grapple with pollution issues, particularly regarding the presence of enterococci and E.coli bacteria, which raised concerns among organizers and participants
