French take gold, bronze in triathlons after Seine passes water quality tests
Canada's Legault 35th in women's, Mislawchuk 9th and Paquet 13th in men's
France's Cassandre Beaugrand, inspired by thousands of home fans lining the streets of Paris, delivered a textbook run to claim an emotional win in the women's triathlon on Wednesday and earn France a first individual Olympic medal in the sport.
After the race was given the early-morning green light following pollution tests, Beaugrand was among the leaders from the start and then put the hammer down with a kilometre left in the 10 km run to take gold, breaking the tape in one hour 54 minutes 55 seconds.
Julie Derron continued Switzerland's rich pedigree in women's Olympic triathlon, coming in six seconds behind to add a silver to gold by Brigitte McMahon in 2000 and Nicola Spirig in 2012.
World champion Beth Potter also built on Britain's record as the most successful nation in the sport, with her bronze a further nine seconds back making it nine medals for the country in all.
After the postponement of the men's race Tuesday due to poor water quality, the women's event began on time on the back of a rainstorm.
Beaugrand, ranked number one in the world, broke away in the last lap of the run and was fueled to the finish line by ecstatic cheers from crowds lining the streets. After the first of four 2.5 km laps of the 10 km run, Potter, Derron, and local favourites Emma Lombardi and Beaugrand had forged clear.
The quartet ran together until halfway round the final lap when Beaugrand made her decisive move and was able to enjoy the greatest moment of her career.
Emy Legault of L'lle Perrot, Que., reached the finish in 1:56:28, good for 35th of 51 finishers in her Olympic debut.
Legault's breakout 2022 campaign included her first podium finish at a World Triathlon Cup and a 10th-place effort at the Commonwealth Games.
Last fall, the 28-year-old was sixth in the women's race at the Pan Am Games in Santiago, Chile, where she earned bronze with the relay team.
Great Britain's Yee takes men's event
Fellow Canadians Tyler Mislawchuk and Charles Paquet followed in the men's race, placing ninth and 13th.
Alex Yee of Great Britain captured the gold medal in 1:43:33, followed by New Zealand's Hayden Wilde (1:43:39) and Frenchman Leo Bergere (1:43:43).
For Mislawchuk, his effort represents an Olympic best after he was 15th in the event in 2016 (Rio) and 2021 (Tokyo). The 29-year-old entered Wednesday's event ranked 19th in the world.
In Tokyo, Mislawchuk raced with a torn Achilles tendon and recently recovered from a concussion suffered in a crash during a May race.
For Paquet of Port-Cartier, Que., his Olympic debut added to a career season. He earned his best-ever World Triathlon Champion Series result in May, placing fifth in Yokohama, Japan. Two weeks later, the 26-year-old was seventh in the final WTCS race to count towards 2026 Olympic qualification in Cagliari, Italy.
Yee ran a perfectly-paced 10 km to snatch a dramatic win, overhauling a fading Wilde in brutal conditions.
He and Wilde immediately forged clear out of the bike leg. The latter surprisingly made an early move, with Yee, widely regarded as the fastest runner in the field and silver medallist three years ago, declining to respond.
It looked to be Wilde's race but the hard pace and 30 C heat sapped his energy and Yee, previously a British 10,000-metre champion, showed his mastery of the distance, flying past with less than 300 to go and finishing clear.
After days of delays and uncertainty over water quality in the Seine River, the women's and men's Olympic triathlon races went forward Wednesday with a swim in the famed Paris waterway.
The decision to go ahead with the Seine swim for the women's and men's triathlon competitions on Wednesday is a big win for the city, Olympics organizers and the athletes.
Elevated bacteria levels forced Tuesday postponement
Officials undertook an ambitious plan, including 1.4 billion euros ($2 billion Cdn) in infrastructure improvements, to clean up the long-polluted Seine and have been steadfast in their insistence that the swimming portion of the triathlon and the marathon swimming events next week could safely be held in the river.
Organizers said early Wednesday the latest tests of the water showed compliance with quality standards.
Elevated levels of bacteria in the river pushed the men's race originally planned for Tuesday to Wednesday, when the women's competition had been scheduled. Test events meant to allow the athletes to familiarize themselves with the course had already been cancelled for the same reason on Sunday and Monday.
The water quality in the Seine is directly affected by rainfall that can lead to wastewater runoff flowing into the river. Heavy rains fell during Friday's Olympic opening ceremony, and rain continued for most of the day Saturday.
'Very close to the threshold'
Every day since Sunday, even as organizers announced cancellations or postponements, they continued to express confidence that the swims in the Seine would go forward as planned the next day. For several days they did not publicly release the data on levels of E. coli and other bacteria that contributed to their decisions.
High levels of E. coli in water can indicate contamination from sewage. Most strains are harmless and some live in the intestines of healthy people and animals. But others can be dangerous. Even a mouthful of contaminated water can lead to diarrhea, and the germ can cause illnesses such as infections in the urinary tract or in the intestines.
Daily water quality tests measure levels of the fecal bacteria E. coli. World Triathlon's water safety guidelines and a 2006 European Union directive give a range of E. coli levels from "excellent" to "sufficient." Anything beyond 900 colony-forming units per 100 millilitres is not considered safe or "sufficient." But experts stressed that these numbers are simply guidelines used to assess risk.
Plus, Aurélie Merle, the Paris 2024 director of sports, told reporters Tuesday water samples are taken 21 and a half hours before decisions are made about the swim. That leaves uncertainty about their accuracy the day of the race.
Merle said Tuesday that testing results showed "we're very close to the threshold of triathlon." She noted that one of four test sites along the triathlon course was below the threshold for E. coli. Two other sites were just above the limit and one was more elevated, she said, citing a range of 980 to 1,553.
"We know the sun and the heat have a very strong impact on the quality of the water," she said, hoping that a heat wave that hit most of France on Tuesday would help improve water quality enough for the swims to go ahead.
Organizers have said the marathon swimming races, scheduled for Aug. 8 and 9, could be relocated, if needed, to the Vaires-sur-Marne Nautical Stadium in the greater Paris region, which already hosts rowing and canoeing competitions and can accommodate up to 15,000 spectators.
Efforts to make the river suitable for swimming included the construction of a giant basin to capture excess rainwater and keep wastewater from flowing into the river, renovating sewer infrastructure and upgrading wastewater treatment plants.
Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo very publicly took a swim in the river two weeks ago, along with Paris 2024 chief Tony Estanguet; Marc Guillaume, the top government official for the Paris region; and swimmers from local swimming clubs. Data released last week show that E. coli levels at the Bras Marie were at 985 units per 100 millilitres that day, slightly above the established threshold.
With files from The Associated Press and CBC Sports
