The World Triathlon and Paris 2024 jointly released a statement blaming the severe rain that pounded the French capital on Friday and Saturday for the high pollution.
“The athletes’ health is the top priority for Paris 2024 and World Triathlon,” a statement said following a meeting that began at 3:30 a.m. local time (0130 GMT).
“Today’s tests in the Seine found water quality levels that did not offer enough assurances to let the event take place.
“Unfortunately, uncontrollable meteorological events may change the water quality and force us to reschedule the event for safety concerns.”
Due to dangerous pollution levels brought on by last week’s rain, organisers had already cancelled the training sessions in the Seine that were supposed to take place on Sunday and Monday.
Nonetheless, they had voiced hope that the bright, sunny weather in Paris this week, which lowers bacteria levels, would cause the pollution to subside in time for Tuesday’s race.
Over the past ten years, the French government has spent 1.4 billion euros ($1.5 billion) cleaning up the Seine, including building significant new water treatment and storage facilities in and around Paris.
However, persistently high rainfall overwhelms the city’s sewage infrastructure and subterranean drains, causing untreated wastewater to leak into the river.
The planners of Paris 2024 were facing a significant challenge when the Seine continued to fail water tests until the beginning of July, despite an unusually wet spring and summer. There were instances where the E. Coli bacteria levels, which are a sign of faeces, were ten times greater than allowed. Prior to marathon swimming during the second week of competition, the triathlon is the first Olympic event slated to take place in the river.