'60% chance' triathlons take place on Wednesday

"We  had been  taken aback  this morning  whilst  we  noticed  that it  changed into  now no longer  as  rapid  as we wanted," she added.
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The  guys 's race  were  because of  begin  at 07:00 BST (08:00  neighborhood  time) on Tuesday.

While Friday, 2 August  stays  a back-up date for  each  the  guys  and women's races, organisers say the  occasion  may be  contested as a duathlon -  simply  the  biking  and  jogging  legs - as a  final  resort.

Great Britain's Alex Yee is  one of the  favourites for gold  withinside the  guys 's race,  even as  team-mate Beth Potter is the reigning women's  global  champion.

Key questions  responded  after triathlon postponement
Published
21 hours ago
Postponement is 'disrespectful'
Postponing the  guys 's triathlon  at the  morning of the  occasion  changed into  "disrespectful",  in line with  one competitor.

Belgium's Marten van Riel  stated  triathletes  were  dealt with  like "puppets in a puppet show".

"If  the concern  changed into  the  fitness  of the athletes this  occasion  might  had been  moved to  every other  place  a  long term  ago," Van Riel wrote on Instagram.

The prospect of  losing  the swimming leg from the triathlon has  additionally  been met with criticism.

"Duathlon  isn't anyt any  triathlon and  converting  the day like that  withinside the  nighttime  is disrespectful to the years of  education  of the athletes and to all our  fanatics  that  had been  going  to look at  stay  or on TV,"  stated  Van Riel.

"What an  look  for triathlon on  the largest  scene."

British triathlete Vicky Holland, an Olympic bronze medallist in 2016,  advised  BBC Sport organisers  ought to  have had an  opportunity  venue  geared up  to  preserve  the swimming.

"A duathlon  will be the  worst-case scenario,"  stated  Holland.

"That  might  be a  surely  disappointing outcome. It is disappointing that there wasn't  every other  contingency in place,  however  a back-up venue  seems like  an  apparent  option."

Weather forecast is 'encouraging'
British Triathlon  overall performance  director Mike Cavendish  stated  the postponement of the  guys 's race  changed into  "  truely  disappointing"  however  added: "We  apprehend  the  establishing  committee's  preference  for the  occasion  to move  in advance  as a triathlon."

Tests are being  completed  each day  at the  water  high-satisfactory  withinside the  Seine, which  is likewise  because of  host the triathlon  combined  relay on  five  August, the Olympic marathon swimming on  eight  and  nine  August, and the Para-triathlon  occasion  on the  Paralympics, which  begin  on 28 August.

Organisers  stated  approximately  1.4bn euros (£1.2bn)  were  spent on a regeneration  assignment  to make the Seine  secure  to swim in after a 100-  12 months  ban from doing so.

As  currently  as June this  12 months ,  the extent  of E coli  micro organism  changed into  10  instances  the  suitable  degree  imposed  via way of means of  sports activities  federations.

Paris mayor Anne Hidalgo  currently  swam  withinside the  river  to focus on  the  smooth -up efforts  that have been  undertaken and,  in advance  this month,  checks  confirmed  the river  changed into  smooth  sufficient  for swimming.

However, heavy rain in Paris on Friday and Saturday has  induced  the water  high-satisfactory  to decline.

Thundery showers are forecast for Wednesday morning, following  expected  excessive  temperatures of  as much as  35C on Tuesday.
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Analysis
BBC News Paris correspondent Hugh Schofield
This dirty water story is getting to be an embarrassment for all involved - the Olympics organisers, the city of Paris and the French government.
We were led to believe the Seine would be ready for swimming by the time of the Games, thanks to a massive investment of 1.4bn euros.
Persistently negative test results in the past months were put down to rainy spring weather. That, plus the fact the massive underground holding reservoir near Austerlitz station - a key part of the solution - had yet to come on stream.
But now it is high summer and the Austerlitz reservoir is operating - and still the water is not clean enough.
Worse, it's been revealed that on the day city mayor Anne Hidalgo took her famous dip (17 July) pollution levels were too high for bathing. Her explanation for the swim is that authorisation decisions are based on previous days' results, which were positive.
It all begins to look like a massive exercise in finger-crossing - which is not how major sporting events are supposed to be run.
Which is a shame, because the big picture is that the River Seine is infinitely cleaner than it was 25 years ago. Most of the preparation for swimming has been achieved. The goal of opening the river for public bathing is within sight.
Just perhaps not in time for the Olympics


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