(Reuters) – The World Triathlon Para Cup in Paris had its swim leg removed on Saturday due to poor water quality in the river Seine as organisers said they could not risk the health and safety of athletes.
Earlier this month, organisers cancelled the Open Water Swimming World Cup in Paris after heavy rainfall caused the water quality in the famous river to dip below minimum health standards.
Tests were conducted early on Saturday, after which they took the call to switch the Para triathlon competition to a duathlon format.
“We have observed a significant discrepancy on the data between the results of the latest water quality tests provided by the laboratory and the high frequency sample analysers,” World Triathlon said in a statement.
“Considering this discrepancy, and not to put the health and safety of the athletes at risk, the decision has been made to cancel all the swim activities planned for today.”
The women’s and men’s test events were held on Thursday and Friday, respectively, with Beth Potter and Alex Yee winning gold to complete a British double.
(Reporting by Rohith Nair in Bengaluru; Editing by Ken Ferris)
