Heavy rain wreaks more havoc at Olympics as athletes forced to miss sessions

Athletes competing in the Olympic triathlon have had their preparations thrown into havoc after Paris was hammered by heavy rain on Friday night.

The opening ceremony of the games was dampened by the near-relentless downpours as athletes were paraded on boats floating down the River Seine. The river was not only the venue for the ceremony but it will also be used for the swimming leg of the men's and women's triathlon.

The events are due to be held on Tuesday and Wednesday, and the plan was to give competitors the chance to practice in the water on Sunday and Monday. But the deluge of rain has adversely affected the water quality in the Seine and it is expected to fail a safety test at 4 a.m. local time on Sunday morning.

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“The rain that has fallen on Paris over the last 24 hours is likely to impact the quality of the water in the Seine over the next 24 to 36 hours,” a spokesman for the games said.

“Depending on current water quality levels and the conditions expected over the next 24 hours, it is possible that the familiarisation scheduled for Sunday at 8 a.m. may be canceled. The decision will be taken at the daily situation meeting at 4 a.m. on Sunday.

“We are nonetheless confident in our ability to organize the events as planned from Tuesday. Given the weather forecast for the next 48 hours, we expect the water quality to return to below limits within the next 24-36 hours.”

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Swimming in the Seine has been prohibited since 1923 due to poor water quality, but more than $1 billion has been spent over the past decade to make it safe in time for the Olympics and enable Parisiens to take a dip in the city's historic river.

The investment has included renovation of sewers, improvement of treatment plants and the introduction of a huge storage basin to keep water underground in central Paris.

The triathlon is not the only Olympic event to have been affected by the rains on Friday and Saturday. The men's street skateboard event has been pushed back to Monday due to the weather, while the tennis schedule at Roland Garros has been hit hard. No play was possible on outside courts on Saturday, leading to several matches being postponed.

The women's cycling time trial was completed, but not without the bad weather having its influence. Slippery conditions led to numerous riders falling off their bikes, including United States' gold medal hope Chloe Dygert, who found herself on the deck after sliding during a corner. She had to settle for the bronze, behind Great Britain's Anna Henderson and gold medalist Grace Brown of Australia.