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.



Guardiola Says It’s His Responsibility to Get City Firing Again

 Manchester City's head coach Pep Guardiola watches the play during the English Premier League soccer match between Manchester City and Tottenham at the Etihad Stadium in Manchester, England, Sunday, Nov. 24, 2024. (AP)
Manchester City's head coach Pep Guardiola watches the play during the English Premier League soccer match between Manchester City and Tottenham at the Etihad Stadium in Manchester, England, Sunday, Nov. 24, 2024. (AP)
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Guardiola Says It’s His Responsibility to Get City Firing Again

 Manchester City's head coach Pep Guardiola watches the play during the English Premier League soccer match between Manchester City and Tottenham at the Etihad Stadium in Manchester, England, Sunday, Nov. 24, 2024. (AP)
Manchester City's head coach Pep Guardiola watches the play during the English Premier League soccer match between Manchester City and Tottenham at the Etihad Stadium in Manchester, England, Sunday, Nov. 24, 2024. (AP)

Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola said it is his responsibility to get their season back on track after they suffered a fifth successive defeat on Saturday and that the current squad is strong enough to turn things around.

City's 4-0 Premier League defeat to Tottenham Hotspur at Etihad Stadium marked the first time in Guardiola's career that he has lost five games in a row in all competitions.

They have been without a number of key players this season, with Ballon d'Or winner Rodri, midfielder Mateo Kovacic and defender Ruben Dias among those absent due to injury on Saturday.

"We don't expect to lose important players for many times, but it's happened. You have to find a way to deal with that ...," Guardiola told reporters.

"When we start to lose, I said to the people: 'I have to find a way - I have to. We have to find another way to win it.' It's my duty, my responsibility. Find a way to be more consistent and our game will be better, and we will win games."

Asked if City needed to be strengthened in the transfer window, Guardiola added: "I trust more than ever with these players. I think the squad, when all the squad is there, is exceptional, but the team is not ready here."

City are second on 23 points, eight adrift of leaders Liverpool who they meet at Anfield on Sunday.