Paris 2024: Triathlon familiarisation swim cancelled due to poor water quality

It has been announced that the triathlon familiarisation swim at the Olympic Games has been cancelled.

The swim was due to go ahead today (Sunday 28 July) at 7am BST. But after heavy rainfall on Friday, quality has been affected and the water in the Seine has not met the required standard.

A joint statement from Paris 2024 and World Triathlon gave more detail. “The priority is the health of the athletes,” they said.

“The tests carried out in the Seine revealed water quality levels that in the view of the international federation, World Triathlon, did not provide sufficient guarantees to allow the event to be held.”

The hope is that the water will have improved by the start of the actual triathlon events on Tuesday 30 July.

“Given the weather forecast for the next 48 hours,” the statement continue, “Paris 2024 and World Triathlon are confident that water quality will return to below limits before the start for of the triathlon competitions.”

The cycling and running familiarisation will go ahead today as planned.

Possible changes to Paris 2024 triathlons

If the water does not meet the required standard by the days of the events, there are a couple of plans that could be put into action. One option is to make the triathlons a duathlon format, replacing the swim with a run to start the race.

In this case athletes will follow a run/bike/run format which will favour stronger runners, but to the detriment of athletes who were counting on a strong swim discipline to give them the advantage.

Another option would be to delay the triathlons and move the start to Vaires-sur-Marne, east of Paris, which is a facility usually used for water sports such as rowing.

You can read more about how water quality has been a concern throughout the planning of the triathlon events in our article on whether the swims will go ahead.

Read more about how to watch the Paris 2024 triathlon events here.

The only other events which could be affected by poor water quality in the Seine are the marathon (10km) swimming events which are scheduled to take place later in the Games on Thursday 8th and Friday 9th August. Find out more about these events here.