Olympics: pre-triathalon event canceled over water quality concerns [Video]

PARIS, France –

A 2024 Olympics pre-race triathlon event planned for Paris’ Seine River was cancelled Sunday as concerns persist over water quality.

Organizers said they nixed the swimming leg of the triathlon familiarization scheduled for Sunday after a meeting about water quality among authorities tasked with carrying out tests. That included representatives of World Triathlon, as well as city and regional authorities.

Swimming in the Seine has been banned for over a century in big part due to poor water quality. Organizers have invested US$1.5 billion to prepare the Seine for these Games, and the government has said the river would be clean enough to hold events, including the swimming portion of the triathlon and the marathon swimming event.

Daily water quality tests in early June indicated unsafe levels of E. coli bacteria, followed by recent improvements. Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo took a famous dip in the river less than two weeks …