Massive article on today’s French news discussion about recent water quality tests being worse than a few months ago and there is practically no hope of it improving enough for the Olympics. The chances of it being a duathlon were discussed and someone said NGBs should be preparing now for a duathlon.
Soooooooo. The athletes who automatically spring to mind who would benefit from a duathlon are Potter, Beaugrand, Lombardi, Jorgensen and GTB. I know some of these are yet to be selected but would/should that influence selections? Particularly USA.
Link to the article ? The massive basin design to retain rain water is not yet operationnal, it’s obvious water quality has not yet improved given the rain we had recently.
A massive storm would exceed the retention capacity, but its unlikely so I’m curious to see what’s new in the article you mentionned.
If a massive storm still happens, the plan is to postpone by a few days.
As a contingency I’m surprised the organisers haven’t simply looked at a back up venue, maybe not in Paris but somewhere close by with a lake swim with little or no chance of water quality issues. I appreciate it looks a simple task as an outsider but can they really risk it being a duathlon or forcing athletes into filthy water?
Massive article on today’s French news discussion about recent water quality tests being worse than a few months ago and there is practically no hope of it improving enough for the Olympics. The chances of it being a duathlon were discussed and someone said NGBs should be preparing now for a duathlon.
Here’s the base article: https://www.surfrider.eu/learn/news/olympic-and-paralympic-events-in-the-seine-our-purple-flag/
on which the wider news reporting is based. And here’s their letter to the organisers (text translated in main article): https://www.surfrider.fr/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Surfrider_lettre-ouverte-QES_JOP2024.pdf
The main sources of pollution in the river:
→ Run-off and malfunctions at treatment plants upstream of the test area (which can be caused by large inflows during periods of heavy rain).
→ Barges and dwellings not connected to the wastewater networks
→ Malfunctions in the sewage network
The massive Austerlitz bassin works are not yet in operation. https://time.com/6261729/seine-clean-up-paris-olympics-2024/ And it’s not clear how vigorously the revised regulations on boats/barges/riverside direct sewage discharge prohibition is being enforced (needs a Germanic rather than a ‘French’ approach, to have the comprehensive effect needed).
Note: ‘Surfrider’ have been able to monitor the quality of the water in the Seine up until now but in a few weeks’ time due to the closure of the quays , it will therefore be impossible for their teams to continue taking samples .
As a contingency I’m surprised the organisers haven’t simply looked at a back up venue, maybe not in Paris but somewhere close by with a lake swim with little or no chance of water quality issues. I appreciate it looks a simple task as an outsider but can they really risk it being a duathlon or forcing athletes into filthy water?
Everyone pool swims in waves of 8 (maybe 16 if they are willing to share the lane ) then a run through Paris to T1 and carry on from there.
Massive article on today’s French news discussion about recent water quality tests being worse than a few months ago and there is practically no hope of it improving enough for the Olympics. The chances of it being a duathlon were discussed and someone said NGBs should be preparing now for a duathlon.
Soooooooo. The athletes who automatically spring to mind who would benefit from a duathlon are Potter, Beaugrand, Lombardi, Jorgensen and GTB. I know some of these are yet to be selected but would/should that influence selections? Particularly USA.
what a suprise that water quality is worse in the winter …
Most rainy days are in January, March, May, November and December.On average, January is the most rainy with 17 days of rain/snow.On average, July is the driest month with 11 rainy days.
(The organisers need a seriously red hot poker up their arses for this - and Tokyo too - it is completely and utterly predictable that the water quality will be (no pun intended) shit in these locations.
They need to stop the Farce of insisting it being held in tje capital and take it to where there is a properly suitable venue.
(Surprised they don’t try to have the sailing there too, ignoring the need for the sea).
Same cluster for London 2012 with the mountain bike events being in a shite farmers field in Essex with some boulders and building aggregate dumped in to make obstacles, rather than going to a venue 100 miles away from London with real mountain biking terrain.
Noting that they can move the race date to make sure it’s when it hasn’t previously rained (program currently early in Olympics calendar) means they’ll have a Tri. They’ll get “better” water quality in those conditions and thus all will be good.
There is actually a race in Versailles ttps://www.versaillesutriathlonfestival.com which could have fullfilled the ‘post card’ requirement’ and the race takes place in a pond, murky but not subject to rains/flooding.
If the race does not happen it will really look bad for the whole organization. Both the mayor and the president have been saying for months that they pledge to swim in the Seine in July when most people consider it foolish…
It 's funny how people disagreed on the course. Some, like Talbot i think, thought it was (looked) great, a TdF like postcard while other found the course uneventful and would lead to another boring run race.
There is actually a race in Versailles ttps://http://www.versaillesutriathlonfestival.com which could have fullfilled the ‘post card’ requirement’ and the race takes place in a pond, murky but not subject to rains/flooding.
If the race does not happen it will really look bad for the whole organization. Both the mayor and the president have been saying for months that they pledge to swim in the Seine in July when most people consider it foolish…
It 's funny how people disagreed on the course. Some, like Talbot i think, thought it was (looked) great, a TdF like postcard while other found the course uneventful and would lead to another boring run race.It’s the Olympics ffs. Having it in some venue other than the capital/centre would mean it was ‘just another race’. Having it as planned may not be a great bike course, but that’s not the point. The point is that our sport allows ‘desirable locations’ to show off the sights of the city, or at least within sight. We’re not confined to some velodrome or stadium or arena the way so many other sports are.
The Paris, Ile de France and French authorities have taken steps to ensure, as much as possible, that the Seine will be at or above the standard required, as measured. If it’s good enough for sharks . . .
, it will therefore be impossible for their teams to continue taking samples .
I commute there daily, I’m pretty sure only a limited part of the quays will be closed to prepare the accommodations for the public and opening ceremony, and I don’t think that taking the sample 1km down or upstream of the actual race start point would change anything. Again, I live there so I can see it every day.
Sounds like an article created to generate clicks and comments. Samples taken at the worse time of the year, without the new infrastructure. Its useless.
I reckon they’ll have it sorted on the day, maybe half the field will end up with the shits for a week afterwards though!So the team management question is: irrespective of how clean the water is going to be, should athletes risk the water during the swim familiarisation opportunities, in the immediate run up to the individual?
There’s very little value in course fam swim if there are potentially real outcome concerns. So as I said a month ago with the “PR” stunt of the mayor jumping into the river. I want to see what he’s like 24-48 hours later. Of course he’s going to jump in and be all smiles. It’s the 18 hours after that, that sickness creeps in. If he’s sick 2 days later, there’s your answer.
I reckon they’ll have it sorted on the day, maybe half the field will end up with the shits for a week afterwards though!So the team management question is: irrespective of how clean the water is going to be, should athletes risk the water during the swim familiarisation opportunities, in the immediate run up to the individual?
The answer is probably no, the bigger question is how it effects the MTR, if it’s going to make athletes sick, there’s all kinds of variables there.
Can teams pull athletes out the individual for whatever reason and have them race the MTR?
Germany for example, a decent chance of a medal in MTR, slight chance in individual?
There is actually a race in Versailles ttps://http://www.versaillesutriathlonfestival.com which could have fullfilled the ‘post card’ requirement’ and the race takes place in a pond, murky but not subject to rains/flooding.
If the race does not happen it will really look bad for the whole organization. Both the mayor and the president have been saying for months that they pledge to swim in the Seine in July when most people consider it foolish…
It 's funny how people disagreed on the course. Some, like Talbot i think, thought it was (looked) great, a TdF like postcard while other found the course uneventful and would lead to another boring run race.It’s the Olympics ffs. Having it in some venue other than the capital/centre would mean it was ‘just another race’. Having it as planned may not be a great bike course, but that’s not the point. The point is that our sport allows ‘desirable locations’ to show off the sights of the city, or at least within sight. We’re not confined to some velodrome or stadium or arena the way so many other sports are.
The Paris, Ile de France and French authorities have taken steps to ensure, as much as possible, that the Seine will be at or above the standard required, as measured. If it’s good enough for sharks . . .
In France, yes. In the capital? Nope. Not necessary. Are they holding rhe sailing in the middle of Paris too ?
Can teams pull athletes out the individual for whatever reason and have them race the MTR?
Yes but technically they aren’t pulled from the OD. In that case they would simply DNS. But your federation roster must come from the OD roster…so whether you race it, whether you DNF it, whether you DNS, those athletes the only ones who can then race MTR.
There is actually a race in Versailles ttps://http://www.versaillesutriathlonfestival.com which could have fullfilled the ‘post card’ requirement’ and the race takes place in a pond, murky but not subject to rains/flooding.
If the race does not happen it will really look bad for the whole organization. Both the mayor and the president have been saying for months that they pledge to swim in the Seine in July when most people consider it foolish…
It 's funny how people disagreed on the course. Some, like Talbot i think, thought it was (looked) great, a TdF like postcard while other found the course uneventful and would lead to another boring run race.It’s the Olympics ffs. Having it in some venue other than the capital/centre would mean it was ‘just another race’. Having it as planned may not be a great bike course, but that’s not the point. The point is that our sport allows ‘desirable locations’ to show off the sights of the city, or at least within sight. We’re not confined to some velodrome or stadium or arena the way so many other sports are.
The Paris, Ile de France and French authorities have taken steps to ensure, as much as possible, that the Seine will be at or above the standard required, as measured. If it’s good enough for sharks . . .
In France, yes. In the capital? Nope. Not necessary. Are they holding rhe sailing in the middle of Paris too ?
And the proposed alternate venue, Versailles, is actually in Ile de France (Greater Paris).
There’s very little value in course fam swim if there are potentially real outcome concerns. So as I said a month ago with the “PR” stunt of the mayor jumping into the river. I want to see what he’s like 24-48 hours later. Of course he’s going to jump in and be all smiles. It’s the 18 hours after that, that sickness creeps in. If he’s sick 2 days later, there’s your answer.
How hard could it be to have a planned back up course planned and communicated so that athletes could be aware. It seems like very basic contingency planning and this is the Olympics !
I do not agree with the comment on showcasing Paris being the be all end all if it means the tri has the risk of being a duathlon. Just plan the back up course/location and hope it’s not needed.
It would be an epic failure if the Olympic tri ended up a duathlon even if the expectation is water quality will be better at the time at least have a plan communicated well ahead of time.
) then a run through Paris to T1 and carry on from there.