More disorder in the Seine. The training sessions planned for today in preparation for the open water swimming occasions have been cancelled because the organizers considered that the water “is not suitable for swimming”. This is the fifth edition cancelled since the start of the Games, the first four affecting triathlon, a discipline whose men’s competition was postponed by one day due to pollution.
“The Seine is conducive to swimming and you can buy food. “This was stated by Anne Descamps, spokesperson for the Paris 2024 organizing committee, at the daily press conference at the Médiathèque de Paris, seeking to reassure everyone after the cancellation of today’s race. educational session, in preparation for the open water swimming events. ” On August 5, Escherichia coli concentrations were very low at all 3 sampling points. The tests were carried out and the water is suitable for swimming. At 6:30 a. m. this “In the morning patterns were taken, the effects of the analyses came at 10:30 a. m. , and the prices of enterococci were between 242 and 378, so within the margins established for swimming,” Descamps continued, referring to a report from the World Triathlon Championships: “The concentrations of Escherichia coli and enterococci are very low, so the water is suitable for swimming. There is only one price above the threshold, but it refers to a point at which a pattern has been removed from the position of the race.
The foreign swimming and triathlon federations, Descamps recalled, “make joint decisions on the suitability of the water based on the concentration of E. Coli. Based on the results of laboratory tests of samples taken 24 hours before the race, decisions are made with due caution and tests will be carried out on athletes to familiarize them with the situations of the Seine, provided that the weather conditions are excellent. “
Following the case of the Belgian athlete affected by an Escherichia coli infection, doubts persist about the suitability of the Seine water, which has led to the cancellation of today’s swimming practices. The Belgian Olympic Committee has expressed doubts about the physical state of the river and revealed that one of its triathletes is “sick”. This is Claire Michel, an athlete who participated last Wednesday in the women’s triathlon, finishing in 38th place, and who was hospitalized this weekend in the Olympic Village clinic after falling ill.
The Belgian Olympic Committee provided important information about his condition, but local media reported an Escherichia coli infection. As a result, Belgium withdrew its team from the triathlon relay scheduled for Monday in Paris. “The Belgian Olympic Committee and the triathlon federation hope that the lesson will be learned before the upcoming triathlon competitions at the Olympic Games,” they said in a statement.
According to the organizing committee of the Paris Olympic Games, the triathletes were informed of the investigation of the water in the Seine before Monday’s combined relay, in particular of the fact that the regulatory degrees were exceeded at one of the 4 research points. After the cancellation of two educational sessions this weekend because the Seine was not empty enough, the International Triathlon Federation announced on Sunday night that the race would take place.
“These effects were presented to the athletes and there was no objection from them to swimming,” COJO spokeswoman Anne Descamps said at a press conference. Generally, the decision to hold the race is made at night, a few hours before, based on analyses carried out 24 hours before, in addition to criteria such as the smell and appearance of the water and recent weather conditions. This formula only allows you to know for sure after the occasion if the water was suitable for swimming at the exact moment of the occasion.
Since the start of the Olympics, four educational sessions have been cancelled and the men’s triathlon race has been postponed by one day. In addition to the Belgian athlete, several triathletes have reported gastric problems, without establishing a link with swimming. The Italian Society of Environmental Medicine (Sima) also spoke out on the issue, explaining that “despite the efforts made by the French management and the Olympic Committee to make the Seine suitable for swimming and to authorize open water events, the dangers to the health of athletes in the 2024 Olympic Games will completely remove pollutants from rivers.
“The presence of fecal bacteria in river waters, such as Escherichia coli, can cause gastrointestinal infections in humans accompanied by symptoms such as diarrhea and vomiting,” stressed the president of Sima, Alessandro Miani. “Skin and eye infections can also occur due to contact with infected water, leading to rashes and eye infections. Another life-threatening threat is leptospirosis, a disease caused by bacteria found in the urine of animals such as rats and mice: the symptoms come with high fever, “we will also have to be exposed to chemical contaminants present in river waters, such as heavy metals, insecticides or other substances, adding that the destructive effects on health are not immediate but are observed in the long term,” Miani concluded.