Triathlon training in the River Seine has been cancelled for a second successive day because of the water quality.
There had been growing concerns over the back-up plan for the triathlon with high levels of sewage in the water in the lead-up to the Paris Olympics.
That had dropped dramatically but the heavy weekend downpours have led to a rise of pollution into the Seine meaning organisers told the triathletes it was not safe to swim again today.
Sunday’s familiarisation session was called off for the same reason and then Monday’s full planned training was also cancelled with organisers wanting to “reiterate that the priority is the health of the athletes”.
The men’s triathlon is scheduled to take place on Tuesday morning but there is a back-up plan of August 1 or 2 for the event to take place in the event of ongoing issues with the water quality.
Should that not improve in the coming days then organisers have said the swimming leg of the triathlon would be dropped meaning it would be just a cycle and run for the first time in the event’s Olympic history.
Alex Yee, a silver medallist in Tokyo three years ago, is bidding for gold for Team GB.
A joint statement from Paris Olympic organisers and World Triathlon said: “The tests carried out in the Seine revealed water quality levels that in the view of the international federation, World Triathlon, did not provide sufficient guarantees to allow the event to be held. This is due to rain that has fallen on Paris on July 26 and 27.
“Given the weather forecast for the next 36 hours, Paris 2024 and World Triathlon are confident that water quality will return to below limits before the start of the triathlon competitions on July 30. As observed in July, with summer conditions, water quality in the Seine has improved significantly.”
