Paris paratriathlon races moved because of water quality concerns

Quelle surprise! The Paris Paralympic paratriathlon events have been moved due to concerns over the water quality. Set to take place on 1 and 2 September, all 11 medal events will now take place – further tests permitting – on Sunday 1 September.

A statement from World Triathlon read: “Following a meeting at 9:30am on 29 August attended by representatives of World Triathlon, Paris 2024 and the relevant French authorities involved in monitoring the conditions of the Seine, Paris 2024 and World Triathlon have confirmed a revised schedule for the paratriathlon events at the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games.

“All eleven medal events will now take place on 1 September, instead of across two days, on 1 and 2 September. This decision has been taken to provide athletes and coaches with as much certainty as possible.

“The latest weather forecast provided by Météo France indicates high level of uncertainty for the upcoming days, which could have an impact on the conditions of the Seine. The course of the swim remains unchanged.”

The news will be unsurprising to many, coming as it does just four weeks after the decision to delay the men’s Olympic race by a day and with all pre-Olympic swim familiarisations cancelled.

Despite the changes, the Paralympic swim familiarisation went ahead as scheduled this morning, 29 August. Decisions as to whether the familiarisation swims will take place tomorrow and Saturday (30 and 31 August), as well as the medal events on 1 September, will be taken, if possible, at 7pm the day before, with the relevant information shared with the teams and all relevant stakeholders afterwards.

Contingency days for all medal events remain 2 and 3 September, and World Triathlon are also keen to stress that all races will still be broadcast live, as was initially planned.

Revised Paris 2024 Paratriathlon Schedule

8:15am Start PTWC1 Men
8:18am Start PTWC2 Men
8:20am Start PTWC1 Women
8:23:38am Start PTWC2 Women
9:25am Start PTS3 Men
9:30am Start PTS2 Men
9:35am Start PTS2 Women
12:00pm Start PTVI1 Men
12:02:41pm Start PTVI2/3 Men
12:05pm Start PTVI1 Women
12:08:11pm Start PTVI2/3 Women
12:20pm Start PTS5 Men
12:25pm Start PTS4 Men
12:35pm Start PTS5 Women
12:40pm Start PTS4 Women
14:40pm Medal Ceremonies

All enquiries regarding tickets will be handled by Paris 2024.

• How to watch paratriathlon at the Paris Paralympic Games

Liz Barrett 220 Deputy Editor

About

220 deputy editor Liz Barrett started work on the magazine in 2007 as staff writer. Since then, she’s reported live from almost every major triathlon across the globe, including the Ironman World Championships, 70.3 Worlds, six ITU Worlds, Challenge Roth, the 2014 and 2022 Commonwealths, the London and Paris Olympics and the Rio Paralympics, to name but a few. Name a pro and chances are she’ll have interviewed them, so, unsurprisingly, she’s our go-to pro-athlete expert on the team. When not covering races, you’ll find her whipping words into finely-crafted shape for both the magazine and website.