The triathlon events at the Olympics have been a popular addition to the Games since its introduction in 2000.
Combining swimming, long distance running and cycling, some of the most talented athletes in the world will be showcasing their all-round abilities as they fight for a gold medal.
The event is once again slated to take place at the Paris Olympics, with three seperate events scheduled, however they are now in doubt due to the poor water quality of the River Seine.
The Sporting News looks at whether the triathlon will take place at the Paris Olympics.
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Why is the Olympics triathlon in doubt? River Seine E. coli problem
There have been significant concerns for an extended period of time on the water quality in the River Seine, which is known to have higher levels of E. coli.
Swimming in the river has been banned for more than a century, but in preparation for the Games, the city of Paris spent a reported 1.5 billion Euros on cleaning up the river and improving its water quality.
The mayor of Paris last month was pictured swimming in the river in an attempt to prove it was safe to do so.
Before last weekend, it appeared the measures had been successful, but rain over the Saturday and Sunday meant the pollution levels in the river increased, resulting in practice for the swimming leg being cancelled.
This means officials will be closely monitoring the pollution levels in the river in the hopes they go down by the time the first triathlon event is set to begin on Tuesday July 30.
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What is the status of the 2024 Olympics triathlon?
At the time of writing, officials will be conducting crucial water quality tests on the River Seine to decide whether or not the men’s triathlon can be held on Tuesday July 30.
The race is scheduled to begin at 8:00 a.m. local time in Paris, but there are contingency plans if the race cannot be run on Tuesday.
The first of these is to push it back by a day, which would also impact the women’s race on Wednesday July 31.
The more extreme compromise if the water levels are still too polluted for the swimming leg to occur is to get rid of it altogether and conduct the triathlon events with only the running and cycling segments.
2024 Olympics triathlon events, schedule
There are three events at this year’s triathlon at the Olympics.
The men’s and women’s events are currently scheduled to be held in back-to-back days on Tuesday July 30 and Wednesday July 31, though this could change depending on the water quality tests.
There is a relatively new event introduced at the Tokyo Games called the ‘mixed relay’ will take place on August 5.
All events are scheduled to begin at 8:00 a.m. local time in Paris.
