Crucial information on tides and water currents can be gathered during the recce – but athletes will be given the option to keep out of the water – with British Triathlon stressing that nobody will go in the Seine if the bacteria readings again go above what is deemed safe.
Water quality information is being monitored daily by the British team and there is an awareness that, although the races now look almost certain to take place as planned in the Seine, a bout of heavy rain could still change things at the last moment.
As well as potentially minimising the athletes’ exposure to water, other measures include the ongoing consumption of food and probiotics high in ‘friendly bacteria’, preventative antibiotics and stomach medicines, extensive wet-suit disinfection, and hygiene measures that mean no food or drink before major post-race sanitisation.
Water and heat concerns have become increasingly common in the sport and such mitigation is increasingly now commonplace in open-water events. British Triathlon is also among the governing bodies that has joined a ‘clean water alliance’ to raise awareness among governments and water authorities.
“We have lost way more races than the previous [Olympic] cycle,” said Mike Cavendish, British Triathlon’s performance director. “To think that, potentially in 15, 20, 30 years’ time, we could end up in a scenario where we have to compete in swimming pools, is not something that we really want to consider.
“As human beings, we need to protect our natural world to continue to do the things we love; that’s not just the water but the climate in general.
“That’s why the fact the Paris authorities are trying to do this in the Seine, as a legacy piece for local people, is hugely important.”
Tony Estanguet, the Paris 2024 chief executive, who swam in the water alongside Hidalgo, said that the water quality was now “perfect”.
While swimming in the river was banned in 1923 due to high levels of bacteria, the city has spent more than £1.5 billion since 2015 to make the Seine swimmable for the first time in more than a century.
