The international open water swimming event scheduled for Saturday in the Seine, which serves as a test for the Paris Olympics, has been postponed to Sunday, the French Swimming Federation (FFN) announced on Friday because the quality of the water ” currently remains below acceptable standards”.
“The decision has been made, in consultation with public health authorities and event organizing partners, to postpone the women’s race originally scheduled for August 5,” the FFN said in a statement.
“The quality of the water in the Seine currently remains below acceptable standards for safeguarding the health of swimmers,” she said.
Initially, the women were to compete on Saturday and the men on Sunday. They will now compete successively, Sunday at 7:30 a.m. for women and at 11:30 a.m. for men between the Pont Alexandre III and the Pont de l’Alma, over 10 km swum in a loop, following the same route as the Olympic event at the Paris Olympics. in 2024.
Friday morning training had already been canceled Thursday evening due to pollution of the Seine, due to persistent rains that have been falling on the capital for a week. These cause the sewers to overflow and pollute the water of the river.
But the organizers, and in particular the international federation World Aquatics, will once again scrutinize the water analyzes before Sunday’s competition.
“Water quality continues to be closely monitored. A new update for the media is expected around 05:00,” the FFN said.