Paris 2024 Olympic Games: Could the triathlon become a duathlon? How will it work? Why has it been postponed?
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Published 30/07/2024 at 10:43 GMT+1
The men's triathlon at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games has been postponed in what could prove to be "an historic failure". With the River Seine's pollution levels currently unacceptable, the triathlon may become a duathlon, with the swimming portion of the event scrapped. World Triathlon and Paris 2024 have until Friday, August 2 to improve water quality. But how would a duathlon work?
Watch: Why has the men's triathlon been postponed? What is the back-up plan?
Video credit: TNT Sports
The Paris 2024 Olympic Games already has several events in jeopardy after the men's triathlon was postponed due to the River Seine's poor water quality.
Following an inspection in the early hours of Tuesday morning, the decision to postpone the event was made just hours before the race was due to get underway.
World Triathlon say heavy rain over the last couple of days means they had to “reschedule the event for health reasons”, with water quality levels “still above the acceptable limits."
World Triathlon's standards are notably strict and are harder to meet than the standard swimming standards.
The event has been postponed to July 31 to take place following the women's event, with a contingency plan of the events moving to Friday, August 2 if needed.
In the event that the Seine's E.coli levels are still unacceptable, then there is another option, with the swimming leg of the triathlon being cancelled and the athletes competing in just running and cycling.
But how would that work?
HOW WILL A DUATHLON AT THE OLYMPICS WORK?
If the triathlon events are cancelled and replaced with a duathlon, it would mark the first time in Olympic history a duathlon has taken place.
The swimming portion of the event will be stripped away and athletes will take part in only the cycling and running.
Ordinarily, a duathlon consists of a 40km cycle and a 10km run.
At the Paris Test Event in 2023, day three of the event saw a duathlon format trialled. The format saw the swim replaced by a separate 5km run.
In a duathlon format, the individual races would see a 5km run replace the 1.5km swim
do athletes prepare for a duathlon?
While Olympic coaches and athletes discuss and prepare for whatever the Olympics may bring, specialised duathlon training and plans are not likely to have been implemented by triathlon coaches and athletes.
Speaking to Triathlete Magazine before the Games, several Olympic coaches admitted that a duathlon is not something they plan for.
“We don’t have a duathlon plan for the Olympics,” says coach Paulo Sousa, whose athletes include USA stars Taylor Spivey and Seth Rider.
“If the swim is cancelled, it will be pretty deflating for everyone involved and the results will be forever asterisked. It will be an historical failure for Paris 2024 that a triathlon couldn’t be held at the Olympics."
Jack Maitland, coach of British world champion Beth Potter and former coach of the Brownlee brothers, added: “There’s not really any additional training you could do to prepare for it over and above what you’re already doing.
"The demands of the event as far as run and bike and physiological preparation are concerned are still fundamentally the same.”
Prior to the Games, Maitland confirmed there had been no communication regarding a duathlon as a contingency plan.
“Nobody on the performance side is considering [a duathlon] as far as I know,” he continues. “It’s not been talked about by the athletes or federation. Everyone seems certain it will be a triathlon.”
IS THE RIVER SEINE REALLY CLEAN?
The Seine hosting events represent a historic moment considering swimming in the river has been illegal since 1923 due to high levels of pollution and high risk of disease.
Due to Paris’ drainage system disposing of both household waste and run-off rainwater together, when there is heavy rainfall, the excess is forcibly drained into the River Seine – polluting it with unfiltered waste.
In June, testing results from Fluidion showed that the Seine was not safe for swimming due to high levels of E. coli evident in the water.
Fluidion found on average between early April and late May, that E. coli levels in the Seine were just under 3400MPN/100mL.
This is more than three times higher than World Triathlon’s standard for sufficient water quality of 900MPN/100ml.
Symptoms of E. coli include diarrhoea, stomach cramps, fever and can even cause kidney failure.
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