France medals in women's, men's triathlons after Seine passes water quality tests

July 31 (UPI) -- Swimmers from host nation France medaled in respective women's and men's triathlons after cycling, running and swimming in the Seine River, which required water quality tests before the events began Wednesday in Paris.

France's Cassandre Beaugrand first won the women's event with a time of 1:50:07. Switzerland's Julie Derron finished second, followed by Great Britain's Beth Potter.

"I didn't realize that I was Olympic champion," Beaugrand told NBC . "I shouted, but I told myself that it wasn't possible. I told myself that someone had to wake me up!"

Flora Duffy of Bermuda, the Tokyo 2020 gold medalist, placed fifth. Tokyo 2020 silver medalist Georgia Taylor Brown of Great Britain placed sixth.

The women's triathletes were the first athletes to swim in the Seine at the #ParisOlympics . ‍♀️ pic.twitter.com/0630dGeOU9 — NBC Sports (@NBCSports) July 31, 2024

Duffy clocked the fastest time (22:05) in the 0.93-mile swim portion of the 32-mile event, but fell behind during the 25-mile cycling segment.

Beaugrand, who was sixth in the swim, was eighth in the cycling portion. She then clocked the fastest (1:54.55) time in the 6.2-mile run to finish the event.

"On the run, I didn't feel at my best, but I felt that the girls were also bluffing me because I knew that I was one of those with the best finish of the four, and in my opinion they were already tiring a bit because in the final sprint I could make the difference," Beaugrand said.

"It was the longest 1500m of my life, but I never doubted [myself] at the end."

Taylor Spivey was the top American finisher. She placed 10th in 1:51:58.

In the men's event, France's Leo Bergere earned a bronze medal. Great Britain's Alex Yee, a Tokyo 2020 silver medalist, won with a time of 1:39:06. New Zealand's Hayden Wilde, a Tokyo 2020 bronze medalist, placed second (1:38:54).

Norway's Kristian Blummenfelt, who won in Tokyo, placed 12th. Seth Rider and Morgan Pearson, who earned respective 29th and 31st place finishes, were the top American men in the event.

We will swim pic.twitter.com/fJR5UVpn2B — World Triathlon (@worldtriathlon) July 31, 2024

After days of uncertainty over the water quality of Paris' famed Seine River, Olympic organizers said Wednesday morning that recent tests showed that the triathlon events could go ahead as planned.

"We will swim," World Triathlon said Wednesday morning in a post on X.

The announcement came after water analyses, received at 3:20 a.m. Wednesday, showed levels compliant with World Triathlon standards, the sport's governing body and Paris Olympics organizers said in a statement .

Concerns over whether the triathlons would take place had long been stoked heading into the Olympics as swimming in the Seine has been banned for a century.

Over the course of nearly a decade, some $1.5 billion has been spent to improve the environmental and sanitary quality of the water in the Seine to make it swimmable in the long term and, on the short term, an Olympic venue this week.

As recently as last month, a report was published showing the river was still too unsafe for swimming.

But efforts continued, and Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo took a dip in the river two weeks ago to show it was on track for good showing at the Olympics.

However, heavy rains on Friday and Saturday resulted in a drop in the river's water quality, forcing organizers to postpone the men's race Tuesday.

The triathlons are not the only events using the Seine for Olympic competition.

The women's 10-km marathon swimming event is scheduled to take place 7:30 a.m. on Aug. 8, with the men's event scheduled for the same time the following day.

For both events, athletes are to swim a 1.67-km loop of the Seine.