The women’s Olympic triathlon was chaotic and there were several crashes during the cycling event in Paris.
The run-up to the race was dominated by concerns over the water quality of the River Seine.
Organizers gave the green light for both the men’s and women’s races on Wednesday morning, seeking to avoid the “last option” of converting the events into duathlons.
However, athletes in the women’s race were more affected by the slippery road surface during the cycling portion of the event, following rainfall in the French capital.
The conditions led to a number of crashes, which resulted in a number of retirements from the race.
Athletes in the Paris Women’s Olympic Triathlon suffered multiple crashes
Norway’s Lotte Miller was one of the athletes who crashed during the bike leg
Miller eventually retired from the race after crashing twice on the slippery track
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Manami Iijima from Guam was the first athlete to crash, with Brazilian Vittoria Lopes, German Lisa Tertsch and Belgian Jolien Vermeylen also involved in incidents.
Favourite Leonie Periault and Colombia’s Maria Carolina Velasquez Soto were also hit.
Lotte Miller fell twice while cycling. In the second incident, the Norwegian had to retire from the race.
Germany’s Laura Lindemann’s hopes of a podium finish were dashed when she crashed with three laps to go.
Lindemann was part of a leading group of ten riders, but lost the pace after her fall.
“Laura Lindemann didn’t do much wrong there, she’s a good, strong and very technical triathlete,” former British triathlete Annie Emerson told the BBC.
‘There is grease on the road and that causes the discomfort we saw in the race.
“I can’t remember a single competition where I’ve seen so many athletes fall.”
Manami Iijima of Guam was the first triathlete to crash during the women’s race
Iijima was one of four athletes forced to withdraw from the race due to a series of incidents
Former British triathlete Annie Emerson believed the greasy road surface had contributed
Britain’s Beth Potter and Georgia Taylor-Brown managed to avoid crashes during the bike section and started in the leading group.
Potter eventually won a bronze medal and the world champion finished on the podium, behind French winner Cassandre Beaugrand and Switzerland’s Julie Derron.
The men’s race will take place on Wednesday morning after organisers were forced to postpone Tuesday’s event due to water quality issues.
A statement from Paris 2024 and the World Triathlon on Wednesday morning confirmed that water quality tests had shown a drop in bacteria levels.
The statement said: ‘The results of the final water analyses, which were received at 03:20, were assessed as compliant by World Triathlon, allowing the triathlon competitions to take place.’
World Triathlon also posted a photo of the Seine River on social media, with the caption: “We’re going for a swim.”
The swimming training sessions for the triathletes were cancelled on Sunday and Monday due to water quality testing.
Organizers gave the green light for triathlon competitions on Wednesday morning
Triathletes took to the River Seine, with water quality expected to have improved sufficiently
More than a billion euros were spent cleaning up the river in preparation for the Games, but organizers knew that heavy rainfall in the days leading up to the competition could increase the concentration of the harmful bacteria E. Coli.
Swimming in the Seine, which crosses the city, has been prohibited since 1923.
In 1990, Jacques Chirac, then mayor of Paris, declared that he would make the city clean enough to be allowed in, but he failed to do so.
Earlier this month, after a staggering investment, current Mayor Anne Hidalgo took a group of about 100 civil servants into the water and swam about 100 meters.