Men's Olympic triathlon postponed due to pollution concerns in Seine
Rain in forecast Wednesday when Canada's Mislawchuk, Paquet are slated to compete
The men's Olympic triathlon planned for Tuesday has been postponed over concerns about water quality in Paris' Seine River, where the swimming portion of the race was supposed to take place.
Organizers said they will try to hold the men's triathlon Wednesday instead. The women's competition is also scheduled on Wednesday, but both are subject to water tests. Friday is also planned as a backup date.
But Meteo-France, the French weather service, was forecasting storms Tuesday night, light rain Wednesday afternoon and storms Thursday, which could complicate rescheduling the events.
Heavy rains generally cause levels of E. coli and other bacteria in the Seine to rise. Paris experienced a downpour during the Olympic opening ceremony Friday, with rain continuing into Saturday.
The swimming portion of training events, meant to let the triathletes familiarize themselves with the course, was cancelled on both Sunday and Monday because of concerns over water quality.
The decision to postpone the men's triathlon followed a meeting early Tuesday morning that included the sport's governing body, World Triathlon, its medical team and city officials.
Triathlon Canada high performance director Phil Dunne noted safety as the top priority when dealing with "uncontrollable variables" in any open water event.
"We have full confidence in World Triathlon and Paris 2024's mitigation plans to prioritize the health and safety of our athletes, while continuously monitoring the water conditions in Paris and developing appropriate plans that ensure the events are executed safely and as anticipated," he said.
Canadians Tyler Mislawchuk and Olympic rookie Charles Paquet are among 55 athletes scheduled to race.
Mislawchuk of Oak Bluff, Man., would be making his third Olympic appearance after placing 15th in 2016 (Rio) and 2021 (Tokyo). Paquet, who hails from Port-Cartier, Que., was seventh in an Olympic qualification race in Italy two months ago after placing a career-best fifth in a World Triathlon Championship Series race in Yokohama, Japan.
Simon Whitfield earned Canada's only two Olympic triathlon medals, when the sport made its 2000 Olympic debut in Sydney and eight years later in Beijing.
Organizers and city officials had expressed confidence that bacteria levels would improve as skies cleared and temperatures warmed in the days that followed, but that apparently wasn't sufficient to ensure the athletes' safety.
Some strains of E. coli can be dangerous
Paris made an enormous effort to improve the water quality in the long-polluted Seine so the swimming portion of the triathlon and the marathon swimming event in August could be held in the famed river that runs through the city centre. But bacteria levels have remained in flux.
Daily water quality tests measure levels of fecal bacteria known as E. coli, with a safe limit of 900 colony-forming units per 100 millilitres determined by European rules. Monitoring group Eau de Paris releases data each Friday, but it is updated only through the previous Tuesday.
High levels of E. coli in water can indicate contamination from sewage. Most strains are harmless and some live in the intestines of healthy people and animals. But others can be dangerous. Even a mouthful of contaminated water can lead to diarrhea, and the germ can cause illnesses such as infections in the urinary tract or in the intestines.
Efforts to make the river suitable for swimming cost just over $2 billion. They include the construction of a giant basin to capture excess rainwater and keep wastewater from flowing into the river, renovating sewer infrastructure and upgrading wastewater treatment plants.
Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo very publicly took a swim in the river two weeks ago, along with Paris 2024 chief Tony Estanguet, and the top government official for the Paris region, Marc Guillaume, along with swimmers from local swimming clubs.
Data released last week shows that E. coli levels at the Bras Marie area of the Seine were at 985 units per 100 millilitres that day, slightly above the established threshold.
Other swimming events planned in the Seine are the triathlon mixed relay on Aug. 5 and women's and men's marathon swimming events Aug. 8 and Aug. 9.
WATCH | Before Games, Parisians said they weren't optimistic Seine would be clean:
Beauchemin-Pinard, Gauthier-Drapeau ousted in judo
Canadian judoka Catherine Beauchemin-Pinard fell short of a chance to equal her bronze medal from the Tokyo Games when she lost a women's under-63 kilogram repechage match to Kosovo's Laura Fazliu on Tuesday at the Paris Olympics.
Earlier, the 30-year-old Beauchemin-Pinard from Saint-Hubert, Que., lost to Slovenia's Andreja Leski in overtime in the quarterfinals to take her out of contention for a gold or silver medal.
Beauchemin-Pinard, the world No. 2 in the discipline, had a bye into the Round of 16.
On the men's side, Francois Gauthier Drapeau, of Alma, Que., lost to Belgium's Matthias Casse, the current world champion, in a men's under-81 kg repechage match. Casse scored a waza-ari in overtime to win the fight.
U.S. men end 24-year wait to advance to men's soccer quarters
Kevin Paredes scored two goals as the United States advanced to the quarterfinals of the Olympic men's soccer tournament for the first time since Sydney 2000 by beating Guinea 3-0 on Tuesday.
Victory in Saint-Etienne ended a 24-year wait for the U.S. to reach the knockout phase and it will play Morocco in the quarterfinals in Paris on Friday.
First-half goals from Djordje Mihailovic and Paredes put the Americans on course for the next round. Paredes sealed the win with his second after the break.
The U.S. advanced in second place behind Group A winner France, which beat New Zealand 3-0.
France plays Argentina in the quarterfinals in a repeat of the World Cup final in 2022. The game is in Bordeaux on Friday.
Other Canadian results:
- Freestyle BMX rider Jeffrey Whaley finished one spot shy of qualifying for the men's park final, placing 10th in the field of 12 after earning scores of 76.20 and 80.83 on his two runs. The 28-year-old from L'Assomption, Que., is Canada's first-ever Olympian in the discipline.
With files from CBC Sports
