**The water level is still higher than normal for the summer. Organizers are weighing up having the athletes swim only in the direction of the current to avoid putting them in difficulty.**
Unlike for the Olympic Games, water quality is no longer the main concern. This time, it’s the current that’s the subject of debate, as the river is still swollen from the heavy rainfall at the start of the summer and the stormy showers in July and August. On Tuesday, August 27, readings at the [Paris-Austerlitz ](https://www.vigicrues.gouv.fr/station/F700000103)[hydrometric station](https://www.vigicrues.gouv.fr/station/F700000103) showed a flow of 230m^(3) per second, around double the normal rate for summer (100 to 150m^(3)/s).
This is certainly less than at the Olympics, when the flow was three times the usual summer level. But, after seeing athletes in the marathon swimming event put through the wringer by swimming against the current, giving the impression of treading water, “the international triathlon federation [World Triathlon] and Paris 2024 looked ahead to the Paralympics to consider another scenario that would avoid making it more difficult for athletes,” explained Maze.
Plan A would see athletes jump off the floating pontoon at the foot of the Alexandre-III bridge[ for a 750m loop to the Invalides bridge](https://presse.paris2024.org/photos/parcours-para-triathlon-b2a6-e0190.html), before returning, against the current, to the Invalides port and the first transition zone (swimming-cycling). Plan B would consist of a single stretch rather than going and coming back, and the distance would be longer. “If we only did 750m, the duration of the event would be much shorter than in any other triathlon competition,” explained Maze. “The idea is to take into account the strength of the current to regulate the swimming distance and to have an effort time equivalent to a race with ‘neutral’ current conditions.”
We’re still doing this? Can’t even imagine what I’ll do when there’s no more „There can/can‘t be open water swimming in the Seine“-news. Can we maybe try to have the LA28 triathlons in the Seine? It’s such a beautiful tradition.
I swear for a quick moment after reading the title, I thought they were gonna give Plan-B pills to female athletes ’cause “who knows what the f* is in that nasty water” lol
Anyway, coming up with a second option is the bare minimum, after the (literal) shithow that happened during the Olympics. They should’ve had a Plan B from the very beginning, actually.
Here we go again…
It would be pretty cruel to give the shitters to someone who doesn’t have arms, just sayin’.
Well, I’m a moron. I was like “is the river getting people pregnant?”
6 comments
**The water level is still higher than normal for the summer. Organizers are weighing up having the athletes swim only in the direction of the current to avoid putting them in difficulty.**
Just before the start of the Paralympic Games, the Seine is [still a main topic of conversation](https://www.lemonde.fr/en/sports/article/2024/08/05/paris-2024-the-olympics-and-the-promise-of-a-swimmable-seine_6709613_9.html). “Did you like season 1? You’ll love season 2!” quipped national technical director of the French Triathlon Federation Benjamin Maze on Monday, August 26, at the press conference for the para-triathlon. The triathlon events are due to be held on September 1 and 2.
Unlike for the Olympic Games, water quality is no longer the main concern. This time, it’s the current that’s the subject of debate, as the river is still swollen from the heavy rainfall at the start of the summer and the stormy showers in July and August. On Tuesday, August 27, readings at the [Paris-Austerlitz ](https://www.vigicrues.gouv.fr/station/F700000103)[hydrometric station](https://www.vigicrues.gouv.fr/station/F700000103) showed a flow of 230m^(3) per second, around double the normal rate for summer (100 to 150m^(3)/s).
This is certainly less than at the Olympics, when the flow was three times the usual summer level. But, after seeing athletes in the marathon swimming event put through the wringer by swimming against the current, giving the impression of treading water, “the international triathlon federation [World Triathlon] and Paris 2024 looked ahead to the Paralympics to consider another scenario that would avoid making it more difficult for athletes,” explained Maze.
Plan A would see athletes jump off the floating pontoon at the foot of the Alexandre-III bridge[ for a 750m loop to the Invalides bridge](https://presse.paris2024.org/photos/parcours-para-triathlon-b2a6-e0190.html), before returning, against the current, to the Invalides port and the first transition zone (swimming-cycling). Plan B would consist of a single stretch rather than going and coming back, and the distance would be longer. “If we only did 750m, the duration of the event would be much shorter than in any other triathlon competition,” explained Maze. “The idea is to take into account the strength of the current to regulate the swimming distance and to have an effort time equivalent to a race with ‘neutral’ current conditions.”
**Read the full article here:** [**https://www.lemonde.fr/en/sports/article/2024/08/27/paris-2024-considers-plan-b-for-para-triathlon-depending-on-seine-swimming-conditions_6722350_9.html**](https://www.lemonde.fr/en/sports/article/2024/08/27/paris-2024-considers-plan-b-for-para-triathlon-depending-on-seine-swimming-conditions_6722350_9.html)
We’re still doing this? Can’t even imagine what I’ll do when there’s no more „There can/can‘t be open water swimming in the Seine“-news. Can we maybe try to have the LA28 triathlons in the Seine? It’s such a beautiful tradition.
I swear for a quick moment after reading the title, I thought they were gonna give Plan-B pills to female athletes ’cause “who knows what the f* is in that nasty water” lol
Anyway, coming up with a second option is the bare minimum, after the (literal) shithow that happened during the Olympics. They should’ve had a Plan B from the very beginning, actually.
Here we go again…
It would be pretty cruel to give the shitters to someone who doesn’t have arms, just sayin’.
Well, I’m a moron. I was like “is the river getting people pregnant?”