Three days after the rains, the Seine is still unruly. The speed of its current remains above the limit of one metre per second and the faecal contamination of its waters, measured in units of the bacteria Escherichia coli and Streptococcus, exceeds the sanitary limits set by the international triathlon federation (Triathlon World) and is not suitable for swimming. At four in the morning, it was announced that the men’s race scheduled four hours later on the pontoons installed under the Pont Alexandre III was cancelled.
The new plan is to hold the men’s event on Wednesday at 10.45, after the women’s event, scheduled for eight, has finished. This is the only available window, as the weather forecast predicts strong storms for the afternoon and evening of Wednesday, synonymous with an increase in faecal bacteria. Paris 2024 and the international federation are keeping their fingers crossed. If the results of the analyses do not improve, there would be two available dates, Friday 2 and Monday 5, when the mixed relay triathlon would be held. The last solution would be to contest it as a duathlon.
“We all want triathlon. Duathlon is a different sport,” says Miriam Casilla, the voice of the athletes from Badajoz, for whom Paris will be her third Olympic Games. “If swimming were suspended, it would be bad for everyone, although it could benefit some people personally, because it would damage the image of triathlon. In any case, health comes first.”
Galician Antonio Serrat, one of the three Spaniards in the running, can remember the collective gastroenteritis that attacked them at the World Cup event in Sunderland (United Kingdom), last summer. More than 57 participants fell ill after competing in the swimming leg at Roker beach on the weekend of July 29 and 30. The athletes who showed symptoms complained of nausea and diarrhea.
“It’s nothing new that swimming is suspended,” explains Serrat, who is currently training in the pool. “Although not in a competition of this level.” It would be the first time that a triathlon, an Olympic sport since Sydney 2000, could not be held in full. It is not so strange, however, that a high-level triathlon suspends the swimming event due to contamination. Paris already had to suspend some of the test events last August and the 2023 European Championship won in Madrid by David Castro was actually a duathlon, since the swimming event scheduled in Casa de Campo could not be held due to high faecal contamination after a major storm that hit the capital.
Sports, regional and municipal authorities and weather experts, who meet every day at 3.30 in the morning, analyse the data and are dismayed to find that there is no decrease in E. coli or streptococcus, bacteria that cause diarrhoea and nausea in the body, or worse infections, if water is swallowed. And they are surprised that, despite the fact that the heat has returned – it is a Tuesday in Paris, with a temperature of 36 degrees at 4 pm – the peak of bacteria is much higher than after previous episodes of storms. The latest results, from samples taken at dawn on Monday, show a most probable number (MPN) of 1,553 E. coli per 100 millilitres of water under the Pont Alexandre III, where swimmers set off against the current for a 910-metre loop and another 590-metre loop past the Pont des Invalides, where the concentration reached 1,046, also above the 1,000 limit set by the federation. The concentrations of streptococcus measured on Sunday 28th reached 727 and 1,046 MPN/100ml respectively, above the limit of 500.
The most plausible explanation they have found is the increase in the current, which makes the bacteria arrive more active, while in calmer waters the bacteria die sooner. The bacteria arrive directly from the drains of ships and from the city sewers, which overflow when it rains and mix with the clean water that falls into the river. Environmentalists have been warning for decades that the excessive paving of streets and squares, with hardly any fields and gardens to absorb rainwater, contributes to the phenomenon.
Perhaps at this moment, both the international triathlon federation (Triathlon World, chaired by the Spanish Marisol Casado) and Paris 2024 are regretting not having chosen to organise their Olympic competition in Nice, which was their first idea. Anne Hidalgo thought differently. The mayor of Paris had promised Parisians that a century after the ban they would be able to bathe in the waters of their river and, after an investment of 1.4 billion euros to clean its waters, the images broadcast to the whole world of Olympic swimmers competing under its bridges would be the best proof of their success. The image of swimmers in the Seine under historic bridges and golden statues should be one more in the series of postcards – skateboarding in the shadow of the Concorde Obelisk; fencing under the dome of the Grand Palais; beach volleyball and walking next to the Eiffel Tower; judo on the Champ de Mars… – with which the City of Light amazes the world. Instead, it will be a black blur. Desires have collided with the reality of the Seine and nature, always rebellious against human attempts to tame them.
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