Opinion
Olympia 2024 No triathlon because of water quality? The real scandal lies elsewhere
The starting area of the triathlon in the Seine in Paris. The men’s triathlon was supposed to take place here on Tuesday, but it was postponed due to the dirty water.
© Marijan Murat / DPA
The water in the Seine is too dirty, the triathlon has to be postponed – that’s annoying for the athletes. But there’s also something good about it: it draws attention to the real problem.
The Seine will be clean for the Olympic Games – that’s what Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo and her entourage have been reliably assuring for over a year. Now the weather is throwing a wrench into the plans. The heavy rain of the past few days has washed too much dirt and bacteria into the river, and the triathletes are not allowed into the water. The competition has been postponed – it may have to be reduced to a duathlon: running, cycling, running.
This is annoying for the athletes, especially as there doesn’t seem to be an alternative venue in Paris. On the other hand, it’s not that easy: the sport requires a site where all three disciplines can be combined.
Opinion
Olympia 2024 From canoe slalom to Tahiti: ARD and ZDF show how good reporting works
29.07.2024
We should be grateful to triathlon
Of course, you can now lament whether it was more important to the organizers to hold on to the idea of swimming in a beautiful setting than to think about a plan B. But we should actually be grateful to the triathlon. For years it has been drawing our attention to a scandal that otherwise receives little attention: our waters around the world are now so polluted that swimming outdoors is becoming increasingly difficult. Last year in England, athletes caught gastrointestinal illnesses in the sea. Bacteria also caused problems at the games in Tokyo. The list goes on.
Paris has invested 1.4 billion euros in improving water quality. Money well spent, to be sure. But experts warned from the start: heavy rain or thunderstorms can ruin the readings from one day to the next. The opening ceremony on the Seine highlighted another problem: Paris did not just have a rainy weekend. France has been suffering from high water and flooding since March. Last year, rainfall was unusually heavy. This year, the country experienced the wettest spring in 15 years.
Rivers are not swimming pools
Climate change is here. And if it now “disturbs” major events such as the Olympic Games, one can only say: good thing. The same applies to the Seine. Rivers are not swimming pools. If dirt is dumped in one place, it inevitably ends up somewhere. For years, environmental protection organizations have been calling for rivers to be granted the “right to cleanliness.” People, industry and, above all, politicians would then be legally obliged to guarantee this right. The scandal is not that Paris did not manage to clean its river in time for the Olympics. The scandal is that this law has not been in place for a long time.
Olympia Compact
Highlights from Paris Angelique Kerber moves into the quarterfinals
59 minutes ago
“Imagine” – at the opening ceremony, IOC officials, heads of government and sponsors from all over the world hummed along to John Lennon’s anthem in unison. So let’s imagine: the profits from the Olympic Games would benefit the climate and environmental protection of the host cities, it doesn’t have to be all of it, a part is enough. Add to that the millions in salaries – sorry, expense allowances – of the IOC members. Let’s imagine: large corporations would finally take their ecological responsibility seriously and not buy their way out with paper cups and other greenwashing stuff. Let’s imagine: politicians would financially oblige them to do this. Let’s imagine that not only climate agreements were passed, but also laws that worked. It wouldn’t just be triathletes who would have fewer problems finding clean rivers. Imagine.
#Subjects
