Pierre Rabadan held a news conference this morning after the men’s Olympic triathlon planned for today was postponed one day to Wednesday. The men’s and women’s races will be held on the same day.
The decision was made to delay the men’s race by one day due to the water quality in the Seine River that was measured and confirmed about 3:30 am this (Tuesday) morning. In the case there is additional rain this week, the bacteria levels are most likely projected to increase again. In that case, Friday is planned as a backup date for both triathlon races.
Additional Concerns
In addition to the water quality issues, the pool swimming coaches and pool swimmers have expressed numerous and varied concerns and complaints about the Games.
- the pool is slow
- the pool is too shallow
- because the pool is too shallow, the swimmers have to modify their dives into the pool
- the pool should have been made deeper but 600 seats would have been sacrificed
- the food is inadequate
- the food is not good
- the beds are too hard
- the beds are too soft
- the transportation from the Olympic Village takes too long
- the bus drivers of the shuttle buses do not know the streets of Paris and are getting lost
That being said, the presence and diligence of the police and security forces have prevented (and averted) terroristic disruptions so far. Political protests seem to be minimal and the weather has largely cooperated after the initial rain of the Opening Ceremonies and early days.
The streets of Paris have been relatively free of heavy traffic and massive throngs of tourists. The fan experience in the venues and stadiums have been wonderful and festive.
Open Water Swimmer Concerns
It is interesting to observe and compare the expressed concerns of the pool swimmers who compete in highly regulated and controlled environments of a certain depth (3 meters) within an area reserved for themselves (within each lane line) versus the open water swimmers who compete in nature and in large packs who must adapt to each and every venue based on variable metrological and water conditions.
Bruckner Chase describes open water swimming as “trail running of the sea”. That is, if pool swimming is like running on a track, then open water swimming is like trail running out in the sea (read here).
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I love open water swimming … they should be fine ..bring it on ❣️
I agree. Every four years, the media focuses on the water quality of the Olympic 10K Marathon Swim – so far, the IOC has yet to cancel any race in 2008, 2012, 2016, or 2021. There are a lot more marine traffic, stagnant water, and millions of more people surrounding Tokyo Bay (14 million people) than the Seine in Paris (2.16 million people).