The 2024 Summer Olympic Games in Paris provided incredible venues for athletes and spectators to practice their disciplines and watch all the action. The Eiffel Tower, the Grand Palais and La Concorde city park were used as backdrops or venues for the temporary structures.

Things went smoothly at these venues. The same cannot be said for the Seine River, where triathletes and marathon swimmers battle the elements in addition to their competitors.

On Monday, the mixed relay triathlon event took place, but in less than ideal conditions. Since 1923, swimming in the Seine River has not been allowed except in rare cases because of how polluted the water is.

Organisers said bacteria levels in the water were within an acceptable range, but it was hard to imagine athletes not feeling unwell as they jumped into the river for the events. Hours before the event, it was still unclear whether the relay would even start.

“World Triathlon and International Olympic Committee representatives met Sunday night to review water tests, along with Paris Games organizers and regional and weather officials. The results showed that water quality at the triathlon site had improved over previous hours and would be within World Triathlon-mandated limits by Monday morning,” they said, as reported by Kate Brumback and Tales Azzoni of the Associated Press.

Despite all the water issues, the spectators were provided with plenty of excitement during the competition. The spring finish came with Germany coming away with the gold medal. The United States took the silver medal and Britain won the bronze medal.

One of the Belgian representatives withdrew from the competition on Sunday, after swimmers who had participated in another event on the lake last week fell ill, they said.

At least three other triathletes have fallen ill after an event on the Seine River, although it is not clear whether the illnesses were caused by levels of bacteria in the water.

More than 100 male and female triathletes are participating in the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris. The fact that three athletes got sick is not a big percentage in the grand scheme of things, but if the water made them sick, questions will long be asked about why other plans weren’t made.

There is one thing that Paris Deputy Mayor Pierre Rabadan does not like to ask questions about.

“It’s not about deciding to swim. There are rules. There are European regulations. We take samples every day to know if the water quality is good enough to swim in. It’s quite realistic,” he told reporters via the AP on Monday.

A huge amount of money has been spent to restore the Seine River to acceptable levels. €1.4 billion (US$1.5 million) has been spent on improving infrastructure. However, Mother Nature had other plans as rainfall led to increased levels of pollution in the water. The men’s individual triathlon was postponed by a day due to bacteria levels.

A test swim was planned for Tuesday for marathon swimmers to familiarise themselves with the course, but it was cancelled after more concerns arose about bacteria levels.

Confidence remains high that the event will take place on the Seine River as originally planned, a sentiment shared by Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo.

“Of course we will wait to get the results of the water quality but the event will take place because there has been a significant improvement in the weather conditions over the last few days,” he said. “So I am really proud and happy and to all those who want to continue to say that it is impossible to pollute a river, I say ‘Yes it is possible, we did it’.”