The competition, which was supposed to start at 8 am, will instead take place at 10:45 am on Wednesday, after the women's race that begins at 8 am.
The rain that came over the weekend has affected the water quality of the Seine and tests have shown – both on Sunday, Monday, and now also on Tuesday – that the quality is not good enough to allow the athletes to swim in the Seine.
Organizing competitions in the river has been a prestige issue for the Olympic Games organizer, which has invested large sums and resources to make the water suitable. However, the water quality has not been good enough for several days, which has also led to the cancellation of training sessions. The French authorities are estimated to have invested approximately 16.4 billion kronor, 1.4 billion euros, over the past decade to clean up the Seine.
If the triathlon swimming competition cannot be held on Wednesday either, the race may be postponed further, to Thursday or Friday. If the water quality remains poor, the competition may be shortened to a duathlon with only running and cycling.
Sweden's only triathlete in Paris, Tilda Månsson, has previously been critical of holding triathlon swimming competitions in the Seine.
I think it's a bit silly, really. They're basically gambling with the athletes, she said to TT during Sweden's Olympic training camp in Eskilstuna.
The women's and men's 10-kilometer marathon swimming competitions next week are also planned to be held in the Seine.
