PARIS: In a significant turn of event, the men's triathlon at the Paris Olympics will not go ahead as planned on Tuesday as pollution levels in the Seine remain too high, World Triathlon said in a statement.
This delay has delivered a huge blow to organizers and has left the athletes in a state of uncertainty.
The race has now been postponed to Wednesday at 10:45 a.m. (0845 GMT) and will take place immediately after the women's event, which is scheduled for 8 a.m. that day.
Earlier, organizers had exuded confidence regarding the prospect of the improvement in water quality just in time for the race after heavy rains last Friday and Saturday dirtied the river.
"Despite the improvement of water quality levels over the last hours, the readings at some points of the swim course are still above the acceptable limits," they said early on Tuesday.
"Paris 2024 and World Triathlon reiterate that their priority is the health of the athletes," they added.
If the levels of bacteria remain too high by Wednesday morning, then the men's and women's races are likely to be postponed to Friday, the contingency day reserved for the events.
However, should the water quality still not be good enough by Friday, then the swim leg of the triathlon will be cancelled, meaning that participants will compete in a duathlon instead.
As far as the mixed triathlon relay event on August 5 is concerned, the contingency day has been reserved for August 6.
Paris authorities have vowed to make the Seine swimmable as a key legacy of the Games, and splashed 1.4 billion euros ($1.51 billion) on developing wastewater infrastructure to contain sewage and minimize spillage into the waterway.
Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo took a dip in the river herself earlier this month, in an attempt to remove any doubts that may arise.
But, the gamble that the river would be clean enough on the day of the triathlon was never assured, especially as water quality varies widely day-to-day.
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