Organizers of Paris Olympics are hoping for better weather over the next few days, which would allow for the water quality of the River Seine to improve ahead of a triathlon competition set for Tuesday.
Water quality in the French capital is closely linked to the weather, and heavy rain during the Olympic opening ceremony resurfaced concerns about the river's safety for swimming. The torrential rain over the last 24 hours has already forced Sunday's practice session to be canceled. The swimming portion of the triathlon and the marathon swimming event are both expected to be held in the river that flows through the heart of Paris. And if the water quality does not improve, the section will be dropped and the event will become a duathlon and then be made up of cycling and running.
China Global Television Network (CGTN) interviewed Hayden Wilde, a triathlete from New Zealand who won bronze in Tokyo Olympic Games, to give his perspective on the issue.
"I've personally been trying to ignore it. I haven't done any specific training for a duathlon. I've been specifically training for the swim. I've put a lot of heart and soul into that. The swim lag is my weakest, but I am feeling really confident. I know that the Olympic Committee and World Triathlon are working together really well, and they wouldn't put us in harm. They're doing the best they possibly can, especially the Paris community here, doing the best they possibly can. We've got a lot of things in place to make sure we swim. We have contingency days if it does happen, but the weather is looking really good from tomorrow onwards, so I'm pretty positive that we can swim for sure on this end," he said.
Hayden believes the event will be spectacle due to the many world-renowned scenic spots in the middle of Paris, such as the Eiffel Tower and Champs Elysee, as well as some iconic bridges.
"Yeah, like as much as it favors me to be a triathlon, I really don't want it to be. You know, you go into a race, and it's part of your sport, and not having a certain discipline within your sport, if you do win the race or do well, it just feels a little bit like an empty win. So even though it suits me and other athletes really well, I think we all really want it to be a triathlon, and it's great for the sport, and I think we really need to swim, and I'm super confident that it will happen. And I think it's got to be an absolute spectacle. It's in a perfect place, in the middle of Paris, so it should be awesome," said Hayden.
In the past decade, Paris City Hall and other relevant departments have invested more than 1 billion euros to control the pollution of River Seine. The test report on the water quality of River Seine published by Paris City Hall on July 4, 2024 showed that the level of E. coli and enterococcus in the Olympic swimming section of the river has dropped to the standard required by the World Aquatics for open water events.
Swim contest of Olympic triathlon faces cancellation risk due to poor water quality
