Water Quality Concerns Halt Paris Olympics Swimming Test in Seine

FILE - Athletes dive and swim in the Seine river from the Alexander III bridge on the first leg of the women's triathlon test event for the Paris 2024 Olympics Games in Paris, Thursday, Aug. 17, 2023. (AP Photo/Michel Euler, File)
FILE - Athletes dive and swim in the Seine river from the Alexander III bridge on the first leg of the women's triathlon test event for the Paris 2024 Olympics Games in Paris, Thursday, Aug. 17, 2023. (AP Photo/Michel Euler, File)
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Water Quality Concerns Halt Paris Olympics Swimming Test in Seine

FILE - Athletes dive and swim in the Seine river from the Alexander III bridge on the first leg of the women's triathlon test event for the Paris 2024 Olympics Games in Paris, Thursday, Aug. 17, 2023. (AP Photo/Michel Euler, File)
FILE - Athletes dive and swim in the Seine river from the Alexander III bridge on the first leg of the women's triathlon test event for the Paris 2024 Olympics Games in Paris, Thursday, Aug. 17, 2023. (AP Photo/Michel Euler, File)

Another Paris Olympics test run in the Seine River was canceled on Saturday because of concerns about water quality, in a fresh blow to Games organizers and the city’s ambitions to reopen the iconic river to public swimming.
Triathlon swimmers took to the Seine in competition on Thursday and Friday, but results of water quality tests showed “significant discrepancies” in the hours leading up to Saturday’s scheduled paratriathlon events, organizers said in a statement. The competition was transformed into a duathlon of just running and biking, The Associated Press reported.
Water safety officials are trying to determine why two testing systems used for the river produced different results. One indicated too-high levels of bacteria overnight, said Pierre-Antoine Molina, who oversees public policy for the Paris regional administration. Rainfall in recent days may have been a factor.
A previous test event had to be canceled this month because heavy rain caused overflows of untreated waste in the Seine, leaving water quality below safety standards. Rainfall also hit Paris ahead of Saturday’s cancellation.
Paris is spending massively on water-management projects that officials say will make pollution caused by storms less frequent.
Olympics organizers remain undeterred in their mission to hold open-air swimming events along the picturesque river, viewing this month's cancellations as a learning experience.
The head of the Paris 2024 organizing committee, Tony Estanguet, said a contingency plan will be in place next year to allow swimming events to be postponed for a few days if water quality isn't up to standard.
But there's no plan B for moving the competition.
"We will remain in this extraordinary location, no matter what happens,'' said Estanguet, a three-time Olympic gold medalist in canoe slalom. ‘’We want to preserve this ambition.''
The plan for Olympic and Paralympic athletes to swim in the Seine dovetails with city hall's efforts to clean up the long-murky waterway. Paris has promised more transparency about its cleanup efforts than Rio de Janeiro, where concerns about sewage-contaminated water dogged the 2016 Olympics.
This week's triathlon takes athletes and spectators — watching for free — to some of the French capital’s most striking vistas: The swim starts from the bottom of the 19th-century Alexandre III bridge and its golden statues. The bike and run laps go along the Champs-Elysees and through some prestigious neighborhoods.
New tests will be conducted and a decision will be made early Sunday on whether Sunday’s swimming events can be held as scheduled, organizers said.



African Players in Europe: Salah Takes Liverpool Back to Top

Football - Premier League - Liverpool v Brighton & Hove Albion - Anfield, Liverpool, Britain - November 2, 2024 Liverpool's Mohamed Salah celebrates scoring their second goal. (Reuters)
Football - Premier League - Liverpool v Brighton & Hove Albion - Anfield, Liverpool, Britain - November 2, 2024 Liverpool's Mohamed Salah celebrates scoring their second goal. (Reuters)
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African Players in Europe: Salah Takes Liverpool Back to Top

Football - Premier League - Liverpool v Brighton & Hove Albion - Anfield, Liverpool, Britain - November 2, 2024 Liverpool's Mohamed Salah celebrates scoring their second goal. (Reuters)
Football - Premier League - Liverpool v Brighton & Hove Albion - Anfield, Liverpool, Britain - November 2, 2024 Liverpool's Mohamed Salah celebrates scoring their second goal. (Reuters)

Mohamed Salah took Liverpool back to the top of the Premier League with the winning goal as the Reds came from behind to defeat Brighton 2-1 at the weekend.

It was the ninth goal of the season in all competitions for the 32-year-old Egypt captain and two-time African Player of the Year.

The goal came amid continuing speculation over the future of Salah, with his contract due to expire at the end of this season.

Here, AFP Sport highlights some African headline-makers in the major European leagues.

ENGLAND

MOHAMED SALAH (Liverpool)

The forward struck in the 72nd minute with a superb curling finish from the edge of the area. Liverpool are two points clear of second placed Manchester City after winning eight of their first 10 league games.

JORDAN AYEW (Leicester)

The Ghana forward was the Foxes' last-gasp hero again as he rescued a 1-1 draw at Ipswich. Steve Cooper's side were in danger of losing to winless Ipswich until Ayew came off the bench to strike from close-range deep in stoppage time. Ayew's third goal this season was his first since netting a stoppage-time winner in Leicester's 3-2 victory at Southampton in October.

ANTOINE SEMENYO (Bournemouth)

Ghana winger Semenyo helped the Cherries claim a shock 2-1 win against champions Manchester City. The 24-year-old netted in the ninth minute with a composed finish from Milos Kerkez's cut-back. It was the hosts first win against City at the 22nd attempt.

SPAIN

MUNIR EL HADDADI (Leganes)

Morocco international El Haddadi scored a brilliant goal against Girona in his team's 4-3 defeat. The 29-year-old Spain-born former Barcelona forward cut in from the right and launched a shot into the top corner from distance after 77 minutes having come off the bench just moments earlier. It was his second goal in two matches after netting for Leganes against Ciudad de Lucena in the Copa del Rey.

ITALY

ADEMOLA LOOKMAN (Atalanta)

The London-born Nigerian international grabbed two goals as Atalanta stunned Serie A leaders Napoli 3-0 in the sunshine at the Diego Armando Maradona stadium. Lookman's second goal, a curled shot after shaking off two Napoli defenders, was particularly memorable.

GERMANY

OMAR MARMOUSH (Eintracht Frankfurt)

Marmoush was on fire again in Eintracht Frankfurt's 7-2 demolition of Bundesliga tailenders Bochum, with the Egyptian named man of the match after scoring one goal and creating two. The 25-year-old Egyptian international curled home a free kick on 18 minutes. He has scored 10 goals this season, one less than Bayern Munich and England star Harry Kane.

SERHOU GUIRASSY (Borussia Dortmund)

Guirassy scored the winner as Borussia inflicted a first Bundesliga defeat of the season on RB Leipzig with a 2-1 home win. Probably the only Dortmund player who can hold his head high after recent poor form, Guirassy was a constant threat up front. With the match locked at 1-1 and half an hour remaining, the Guinea international headed in Maximilian Beier's looping cross.

FRANCE

ABDOULAYE TOURE (Le Havre)

Toure played a captain's role by scoring the only goal as Le Havre defeated Montpellier 1-0 in a battle of Ligue 1's bottom two clubs. The France-born Guinea international, who was key in the club's promotion to the top flight for this season, struck from the penalty spot in the 73rd minute after Mali international full-back Falaye Sacko was penalized for handball.