By: Ivan Wang

Triathlon training for the Paris 2024 Olympics has been canceled due to the River Seine, which is also where the swimming section of the Triathlon will be held, being polluted to the point where it’s not safe for people to swim in.

This decision was made when the Paris 2024 team tested the water quality and found that the waters were full of bacteria that could make the competitors sick.

This could cause more problems in the future if they don’t solve it by July 30, since that is when the Triathlon is supposed to be held. If they don’t manage to purify the water in time, the triathlon would either need to be postponed, relocated or the swimming component will be forfeited entirely, if the high levels of viruses remain. However, French sports minister, Amélié Oudéa-Castéra, believes that the river conditions in the river will improve and that,”I am confident in the fact that we will be able to be there tomorrow for the men’s triathlon event”.

This is an even bigger problem when you realize that the River Seine will also be used in the women’s triathlon, the triathlon mixed relay, and the marathon swimming competitions happening on August 8th and 9th.

The worst thing is that they have invested 1.4 billion euros or 1.5 billion dollars specifically to clean up the River Seine. Imagine if that money was just wasted and the river remained unuseable.

All we can do right now is hope that the River Seine’s bacteria problem will clear up and that it can be used for the Olympics.

Sources Used:https://apnews.com/article/olympics-2024-triathlon-seine-water-1248cb9afaae7d5185ca849123113eb9 https://www.bbc.co.uk/newsround/articles/ceqdj27895no