Major Paris Olympics Event Postponed Over Serious Issue

The 2024 Paris Olympics men's individual triathlon race has been postponed due to poor water quality levels in the River Seine, where the swimming portion of the three-leg race was scheduled to be held, World Triathlon, the sport's governing body, announced on Monday (July 29) in a press release obtained by CNN . The race was originally scheduled to be held on Tuesday (July 30) and will be pushed back to Wednesday (July 31) in accordance with a decision made by World Triathlon, its medical team, the International Olympic Committee and Paris city officials.

“Paris 2024 and World Triathlon reiterate that their priority is the health of the athletes. The tests carried out in Seine today revealed water quality levels that did not provide sufficient guarantees to allow the event to be held,” the press release states. “Despite the improvement on the water quality levels in the last hours, the readings at some points of the swim course are still above the acceptable limits.”

Friday's opening ceremony was met with heavy rain, which raised concerns about water quality in the River Seine, which typically declines after rainfall. Training was canceled on Sunday (July 28) and Monday after water quality testing deemed the river to be unsafe for athletes, though organizers were still optimistic about the race being held on its original date.

The decision to hold some swimming events in the River Seine was met with concerns as swimming in the famous body of water has been illegal for a century, though the intention was to put Paris on full display as organizers vowed to clean up the river. An estimated $1.4 billion Euros ($1.5 billion USD) was spent in clean up efforts, according to CNN .

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