Water quality fears could cancel Paris Olympic event despite billion euro clean-up

Samples taken have shown dangerous levels of bacteria in the water, just over a hundred days before the games start

Rowers scull along the River Seine (AFP/Getty)

Tests of the water in Paris’ River Seine have shown dangerous levels of bacteria with the results leaving Paris 2024 Olympic triathlon in the balance.

The event could be delayed or see the swimming leg cancelled if water quality in the River Seine is adversely affected by weather conditions, according to the games’ president Tony Estanguet.

It was acknowledged that the possibility of heavy rain in the French capital could raise levels of E Coli in the water, despite over a billion euros having been invested in making the river safe to swim in for the first time in a hundred years.

On Tuesday, the Surfrider Foundation Europe charity issued a warning that samples taken have shown dangerous levels of bacteria in the water, just over a hundred days before the games are due to start.

And Estanguet has acknowledged there could be a knock-on effect to the possible use of the river.

Cityscape of Paris, France, with a bateau-mouche cruising on the river Seine (Getty Images/iStockphoto)

“When we decided to have this competition in the Seine we knew it will be a big challenge,” he said speaking at Sport Accord in Birmingham, as reported by Guardian.

“But with the authorities, there is a big programme of investment and, when we talk about legacy, this project is fantastic.

“And we are still confident that the triathlon will be based in the Seine because we have contingency plans. We can postpone for rainy conditions. Because it’s programmed at the beginning of the Games we can wait for better conditions. So we are confident that it will be possible to use the Seine.

“We change the date and postpone from one day to three days until it’s OK. And there is a final decision where we could not swim – it’s part of the rules of the International Federation. It’s what we want to avoid, of course.”

This year podium finishers will be rewarded with a piece of the Eiffel Tower, organisers said, unveiling the event’s medals which are set with hexagon-shaped tokens forged out of scrap metal from the monument.

The idea was to link the Games with symbols of France, said Thierry Reboul, creative director of Paris 2024.

(Getty Images)

“The absolute symbol of Paris and France is the Eiffel Tower,” said Reboul. “It’s the opportunity for the athletes to bring back a piece of Paris with them.”

Designed by jeweller Chaumet, the 18-gram hexagon tokens, representing the shape of France, are made of iron from past refurbishments of the Tower stored for years in a warehouse whose location is secret.

They sit in the centre of the gold, silver and bronze medals, ringed with grooves evoking light rays bursting outward, drawn from a tiara design in Chaumet’s archives.