Seine decision? German swim coach frustrated by Olympic uncertainty

German swimming coach Bernd Berkhahn has expressed concern over the uncertainty over where the Olympic open water swimming events will take place in three weeks in Paris.

The open/marathon swimming is supposed to be held in the river Seine along with the swimming portion of the triathlon. However, due to high levels of bacteria in the Seine at present, the Olympic rowing canal may be used instead.

Germany's Florian Wellbrock, the 10-kilometre open water champion from Tokyo, will again start as favourite but the build-up is far from ideal.

"It is a bit frustrating for the athletes and the staff, who are supposed to prepare for this," Berkhahn told a news conference on Tuesday, adding that it was always a big risk to try to hold the events in the river.

"It would be so different on the rowing course. There the water temperature is about 25 degrees Celsius, whereas the Seine will remain at 21, 22 degrees. The rowing course would therefore be more pleasant."

France has spent around €1.4 billion ($1.5 billion) to improve the water quality in the river but experts are regularly checking the bacterial content and it remains too high.

The Paris Games run from July 26-August 11.