What everyone hoped would not happen has in fact happened, despite months of warnings about the quality of the Seine and the French government's attempts to minimise the situation. 

From Mayor Anne Hidalgo and French Sports Minister Amélie Oudéa-Castéra swimming in the river to show that the water was fine, to Pauline Lavaud, advisor to the Mayor of Paris, stating that "French athletes are not afraid to swim in the Seine", suggesting that it was a matter of courage to swim in the river.

The fact is that, after much back and forth, and especially after months of tests showing that, despite some improvements, she was not fit, there was no triathlon in Paris on Tuesday 30 July as planned. At 3.30am, it was confirmed that the water quality in the Seine was still poor after last Friday's and Saturday's rains, which could endanger the health of those who went into the water.

As a result, the organisers of the Olympic Games have decided to postpone the men's event by one day, an unplanned move that could have significant political repercussions for the French authorities.

"Following a meeting on water quality on 30 July at 3.30am, attended by representatives of Paris 2024, World Triathlon and its technical and medical delegates, the International Olympic Committee, Météo France, the City of Paris and the Île-de-France Prefecture, which are involved in carrying out water quality tests, it has been decided to postpone the Men's Triathlon, which was due to take place at 8am on 30 July," World Triathlon (WT) said in a statement.

The start and finish of the Olympic Triathlon will be at the foot of the Pont Alexandre III in Paris, where bacteriological tests will be carried out to determine if athletes can compete without compromising their health, which is a priority for WT. "Paris 2024 and World Triathlon reiterate that the health of the athletes is their priority. The tests carried out in the Seine today showed water quality levels that did not provide sufficient guarantees to allow the event to go ahead".

The good weather has not helped to keep the levels below the maximum allowed and the situation is not encouraging, despite the forecast for good weather on Tuesday. More rain is forecast overnight and into the early hours of tomorrow, which could complicate the women's triathlon scheduled for Wednesday at 8 (CEST) and the rescheduled men's triathlon on Wednesday 31 July at 10:45 (CEST).

"Despite the improvement in water quality over the last few hours, readings at some points on the swim course are still above acceptable limits," said the WT statement.

Both competitions will have to ensure thatthe bacteria levels in the water do not affect the health of the competitors, with a decision to be made in the early hours of the morning.

There had been speculation that the event would go ahead without the swimming session, but in the end it was decided to postpone it until Wednesday. If the water quality is still not acceptable, there are two options: either the triathlon will take place without the swim, which would have even greater political and sporting consequences as it would be a duathlon, a different sport that could benefit athletes who are not strong swimmers, or both categories will be postponed to Friday 2 August at 8 (CEST).

"The tests carried out in the Seine [this Monday] revealed water quality levels that did not provide sufficient guarantees to allow the event to go ahead," said Paris 2024 and the International Triathlon Federation, whose "priority is the health of the athletes".

Two days of training were cancelled before the event was postponed, with 56 athletes preparing to swim the planned 1500 metres from a floating pontoon next to the historic Alexandre III bridge.