Olympic women's 10km marathon swim on as scheduled in Seine

PARIS -- The Olympic women's 10km marathon swimming event will go ahead as scheduled Thursday at 7:30 a.m. local time in the Seine river after water quality tests met thresholds, Paris Games organizers said.

Games organizers and World Aquatics said the latest tests from the Seine had been assessed as compliant.

"World Aquatics have confirmed that the women's marathon swimming will go ahead as planned on 8 August at 7.30AM," the governing body said Thursday in a statement with Paris 2024 organizers.

A meeting was held early Thursday, attended by representatives from World Aquatics, Paris Games organizers and other stakeholders involved in carrying out tests of the water.

Both the women's race Thursday and the men's Friday feature a 1.67km loop completed six times between the Alexandre III bridge and Pont de l'Alma on the river flowing through the French capital.

A test run to allow athletes to familiarize themselves with the course went ahead Wednesday after being canceled Tuesday because of concerns over water pollution. French authorities have spent 1.4 billion euros ($1.5 billion) on upgrading the city's sewage systems, promising the river will be clean for residents to swim in by next summer.

However, water quality issues proved a headache for organizers during the triathlon events, with test sessions canceled and the men's race postponed by 24 hours.

Reuters contributed to this report.