World

The Seine Games

Efforts to clean up the Seine River in Paris, France, date back decades but were more recently kicked up a few notches as the city prepared to hold Olympic events in the waterway that for more than a century was blocked to swimmers.
Sputnik
Despite the Paris Games being fully underway, athletes taking part in the triathlon were put on hold after repeat testings of the Seine River returned a result that showed unsafe water pollution levels.
The Tuesday finding provided an answer to a question many asked themselves when it was announced that both triathlon and marathon swimming events would be held in the Seine: Will the notoriously dirty water be clean enough in time for the games?
The answer, it seems, is no - or, at least, for the time being. Per officials, the water had been clean enough but the recent rains helped leak untreated sewage.
While the men's triathlon is rescheduled for Wednesday, organizers have pulled out their contingency plans, including scrapping the swimming portion of the event altogether if the tests don't turn around.
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