The controversy over the opening ceremony of the Paris Olympics hasn’t died down yet, and organizers are already facing another embarrassment as triathlon athletes prepare to swim through human feces-infested waters in the River Seine.
The water quality was so poor that the men’s individual triathlon race had to be postponed. In a press release, the organizers stated: “Paris 2024 and World Triathlon reiterate that their priority is the health of the athletes. The tests carried out in Seine today revealed water quality levels that did not provide sufficient guarantees to allow the event to be held.”
Organizers are blaming the situation on heavy rains over the weekend, which typically spur a decline in water quality, but the disgusting state of the water has been a concern since long before the games started.
In fact, it has been illegal to swim in the Seine for a century, so it was surprising that they announced they intended to hold swimming events there in the first place. Apparently, the organizers were more interested in “showing off” their city than protecting the health of elite athletes from around the world.
They spent $1.5 billion cleaning up the river, and the city’s mayor, Anne Hidalgo, took a dip in the water earlier this month in what was said to be a display of her confidence that the water is safe.
Although a new rainwater storage basin that was meant to alleviate water pollution issues managed to stop 40 million liters of wastewater and rainwater from making their way into the Seine after the weekend’s rain, E. coli levels have been spiking, hitting around 2,000 CFU/100mL at the race’s starting point, the Alexandra III Bridge. This is double the level required for the water quality to be considered “good” under World Triathlon standards.
When E. coli levels surpass 1,000 CFU/100mL, the swimming leg of the triathlon must be canceled under competition rules unless an organization’s medical committee deems it permissible to proceed. Two consecutive days of practice were canceled, which meant prospective competitors could not prepare for what is typically one of the most challenging parts of a triathlon in the biggest sporting event in many of their lives.
E. coli can lead to a range of health problems
University of Florida infectious disease specialist Dr. Nicole Iovine told AP: “The problem is always worse when there’s a heavy rainfall, because it kind of overwhelms the pipes and you also get all the runoff from the street. All that lands in the Seine. They’ve done a lot to try to improve the quality of the water. But the truth is you’re at the mercy of Mother Nature.”
Although most strains of E. coli are considered harmless, some can be extremely dangerous, and taking in just a mouthful of the water could be enough to cause diarrhea, vomiting and infections of the intestines and urinary tract.
It's amusing to observe how the organizers seem to be depending on God’s good graces to get the weather to cooperate, hoping that higher temperatures and sunny weather will help E. coli levels drop below the limit needed to allow swimming to move forward.
After the way they mocked a sacred moment in Christianity, the Last Supper, with drag queens representing Jesus and the apostles in their opening ceremony, it’s interesting to see them suddenly depending on a higher power.
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