By: Kevin  Wang

The Olympic triathlon has athletes partake in long-distance cycling, running, and swimming. The swimming event is currently planned to occur in Paris’ iconic river, the River Seine. However, an Olympic triathlon training event at the 2024 Paris Games was canceled due to pollution in the River Seine.

According to NBC News, water quality tests have shown increased levels of E. coli at the place where athletes were expected to start and finish the triathlon. The World Triathlon and Paris 2024 teams have made a decision to cancel the training session on July 28th. The swimming part of the men’s triathlon was originally scheduled to happen on the morning of Tuesday, July 30th, but CBS News reported that World Triathlon announced that the event was going to be “postponed until Wednesday.” The Paris Olympics chief, Tony Estanguet, said that if the E. coli is still above safe levels, the swimming event could just be removed.

The River Seine has had a long history of polluted water. For a hundred years, people have been banned from swimming in the river due to unsafe levels of pollution that could make swimmers sick. A few weeks ago, the river was declared safe and clean enough to swim in, but according to BBC Newsround, officials have blamed the bad weather for increasing the amount of pollution. The heavy rain could have washed untreated sewage into the river, causing higher numbers of harmful bacteria. The cycling and running will continue normally, but the athletes may have to wait before swimming in the River Seine.