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.



Salah Says He Is ‘More Out than in’ at Liverpool as He Enters Final Months of Contract

Liverpool's Egyptian striker #11 Mohamed Salah reacts during the English Premier League football match between Southampton and Liverpool at St Mary's Stadium in Southampton, southern England on November 24, 2024. (AFP)
Liverpool's Egyptian striker #11 Mohamed Salah reacts during the English Premier League football match between Southampton and Liverpool at St Mary's Stadium in Southampton, southern England on November 24, 2024. (AFP)
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Salah Says He Is ‘More Out than in’ at Liverpool as He Enters Final Months of Contract

Liverpool's Egyptian striker #11 Mohamed Salah reacts during the English Premier League football match between Southampton and Liverpool at St Mary's Stadium in Southampton, southern England on November 24, 2024. (AFP)
Liverpool's Egyptian striker #11 Mohamed Salah reacts during the English Premier League football match between Southampton and Liverpool at St Mary's Stadium in Southampton, southern England on November 24, 2024. (AFP)

Mohamed Salah has raised doubts about his Liverpool future, saying he is yet to be offered an extension to his contract, which expires at the end of the season.

Salah spoke out after scoring two goals in Liverpool’s 3-2 win over Southampton on Sunday and suggested he is more likely to leave than stay with the Premier League leader.

"Well, we are almost in December and I haven’t received any offers yet to stay in the club," he told reporters. "I’m probably more out than in. You know I have been in the club for many years. There is no club like this. But in the end it is not in my hands."

Salah's goals saw Liverpool extend its lead at the top of the standings to eight points. The Egypt international is 32 and has been at the club since 2017.

He has scored 12 goals in 18 appearances this season.

Salah gave a rare interview to English print media before boarding the team bus after the Southampton game and expressed his frustration about the lack of progress with his contract.

"I’m not going to retire soon so I’m just playing, focusing on the season and I’m trying to win the Premier League and hopefully the Champions League as well. I’m disappointed but we will see," he said.

"I’m very professional. Everybody can see my work ethic. I’m just trying to enjoy my football and I will play at the top level as long as possible. I’m just doing my best because this is who I am and I try to give it all for myself and for the club. We will see what happens next."

Salah is Liverpool's all-time leading scorer in the Premier League with 167 goals. In all competitions he has scored 223 goals in 367 appearances.

He has won a full set of trophies with the Merseyside club including the league title and the Champions League.