Watch: Paris Olympics triathlon goes ahead as Seine water quality passes test

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Andrew Feinberg

White House Correspondent

Watch as spectators lined the banks of the River Seine as the Paris Olympics triathlon races were given the go-ahead on Wednesday, 31 July, after the water passed quality tests.

Organisers greenlit the men’s and women’s events after testing revealed lower levels of bacteria in the water.

The men’s event was due to take place on Tuesday but was postponed over concerns about water quality.

A joint statement from Paris 2024 and World Triathlon early on Wednesday said: “The results of the latest water analyses, received at 3.20am, have been assessed as compliant by World Triathlon allowing for the triathlon competitions to take place.”

The women’s race took place at 8am local time on Wednesday, and the men’s race will take place at 10:45am.

More than a billion euros was spent on cleaning up the river in preparation for the Games, but organisers knew heavy rain in the days before a competition could cause the levels of the harmful bacteria E. Coli to rise.