Triathlon. The triathlon competition takes place around the Seine River

After failing miserably in an open water test in the Seine, the triathlon in turn throws himself into the river from Thursday through Sunday.

One year after Paris 2024, the stakes are high in terms of Olympic qualification for many delegations. The plan for the weekend is simple: a 1,500m swim between the Alexandre III Bridge and the Alma Bridge, then a 40km bike ride before ending with a 10km run, during which they will memorably climb the Champs-Elysées.

On this route, similar to next year’s Olympics, the world’s best triathletes will want to get their ticket to the Olympics. Only four athletes from the world’s top 20 men and women will be absent. Norwegian Olympic champions Kristian Blumenfelt and Bermudian Flora Duffy will be first on the Alexander III Bridge.

Blumenfelt and Duffy predicted

To win on Friday, there are many to claim victory besides the Norwegian: Briton Alex Yee, New Zealander Hayden Wilde, Australian Matthew Hauser and Frenchman Pierre Le Curie who have already won this season.

Among the women, Flora Duffy, who has not competed in an international triathlon since November 2022, will return to competition on Thursday. Her main challengers should be the French and the British: Cassander Bogran holds two impressive victories in Hamburg and Sunderland, and Pete Potter holds the world tour lead .

After Saturday’s Para Triathlon events, France, Norway and Great Britain must battle it out for victory on Sunday in the mixed relay.

Water quality is “satisfactory”

But one question remains: water quality. At the beginning of August, the open water swimming events that were to be held there were canceled due to the pollution of the river.

This week, water quality has since returned to a “satisfactory threshold,” the Paris city council said on Wednesday, specifying that the level of Escherichia coli bacteria had fallen below the regulatory maximum (1,000 CFU per 100 ml).

Water quality will be monitored during the four days of competition with daily laboratory analyzes and real-time measurement tools.