The Seine River: Men and women's Olympic triathlons to go ahead as Paris river passes tests - after event postponed due to pollution
The men and women's Olympic triathlons will be allowed take place after tests showed the River Seine is now clean enough for competition.
Results from the latest water analyses, received at 03:20 on Wednesday (31 July), were deemed compliant by World Triathlon. Daily tests of the Seine's quality are carried out, with recent heavy rain causing the river to be too dirty for competition.
On Tuesday (30 July), the men’s event was postponed due to the Seine's water quality. Organisers previously said that the events only had a 60% chance of going ahead after that was postponed.
Organisers said about 1.4bn euros (£1.2bn) had been spent on a regeneration project to make the Seine safe. Paris mayor Anne Hidalgo recently swam in the river ahead of the Olympics to show it is safe for athletes to swim in.
However, heavy rain in Paris on Friday and Saturday caused the water quality to decline. Thundery showers are forecast for Wednesday morning.
Between 17-23 July, data showed that the river that dissects the French capital was suitable for swimming on six days out of seven. As recently as June, levels of E coli were 10 times more than the acceptable level imposed by sports federations.
The women’s race will start at 7am UK time and be followed by the men at 9.45am. Team GB have said that they will be ready whatever happens today. Georgia Taylor-Brown, who won individual silver and team gold in Tokyo, is also a medal contender for Team GB.