The Olympic men’s triathlon was postponed hours before its scheduled start after water quality tests showed unhealthy pollution levels in the Seine, organisers say.

In a joint statement on Tuesday, Paris 2024 and World Triathlon blamed the excessive pollution on heavy rains that deluged the French capital on Friday and Saturday.

“Paris 2024 and World Triathlon reiterate that their priority is the health of the athletes,” the statement said.

The race has been postponed to 10:45am (08:45 GMT) on Wednesday after the women’s event at 8am (06:00 GMT).

But if bacteria levels remain high on Wednesday morning, the men’s and women’s races will likely be moved to Friday, the contingency day reserved for events.

If the water quality is still not healthy enough to swim in by Friday, then the swimming leg of the event will be scrapped.

“The tests carried out in the Seine today revealed water quality levels that did not provide sufficient guarantees to allow the event to be held,” the organisers’ statement read.

“Unfortunately, meteorological events beyond our control, such as the rain which fell over Paris on 26 and 27 July, can alter water quality and compel us to reschedule the event for health reasons.”

Reporting from Paris, Al Jazeera’s Bernard Smith said the organisers hope that swimming in the Seine would have been the event’s “wow factor” as the triathlon route was designed around Parisian monuments.

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