Men’s Olympic triathlon postponed as Seine remains too contaminated for safe swimming
NBCJul 18
Men's Olympic Triathlon Cleared for Wednesday
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The Facts
The men's Olympic triathlon has received clearance to be held on Wednesday after tests carried out in the Seine River revealed acceptable water quality levels. The event will now take place Wednesday at 10:45 am, after the women's triathlon.
This follows uncertainty over when the event — originally scheduled for Tuesday — would be held after the river failed tests that were conducted early Tuesday morning.
The Spin
Narrative A
Despite all the money invested to achieve the long-dreamed clean-up of the Seine River, athletes and even the general public had their suspicions about how clean its murky waters would be during the Games. Yet, the very prospect that the triathlon was even considered to be turned into a duathlon is a fiasco of Olympic proportions.
Narrative B
Paris Olympics organizers did all they could to clean up the Seine River for the Games, but meteorological events that can affect water quality are beyond their control. Luckily, recently improved weather conditions made the water safe to swim in.