The city of Paris must have done something to anger the Olympic weather gods.
A local favorite ran home first in the women’s triathlon at the Paris Summer Games on Wednesday, lifting France to second place in the medal table and sending fans crazy.
But it was a brutal contest, almost two hours of torture—or, more precisely, one hour 54 minutes and 55 seconds for 27-year-old Cassandre Beaugrand, who set a world record in her hometown after leaving her rivals behind in the final kilometer of the running leg.
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It was the first time Olympic swimmers had taken to the river Seine since the Paris Games of 1900—and a century-long ban on any swimming in the river—but had almost never happened despite a $1.5 billion cleanup program.
Torrential rains that began during Friday’s opening parade on the Seine washed millions of gallons of sewage into the river, and triathletes were unable to try out the swim course because the water was too polluted.
The men’s contest was postponed on Tuesday and the women racers had to wait until a couple of hours before start time to find out if their race was going ahead.
It did, but another overnight rainstorm had left the murky river swollen for the opening 1500 meter swim leg, its currents difficult to handle.
Then came the 40 kilometer cycling leg, seven circuits around a twisting, treacherous course where at least a dozen racers took a spill after losing their back wheels on the wet, greasy cobblestones and slippery white lines. Most managed to rejoin the race, but others were forced out.
“I don’t really have any words for the last two hours that we just experienced,” said Australian racer Sophie Linn, according to the Sydney Morning Herald. “That was every single possible adverse weather condition, you know, a high current, rain, heat, humidity like it was just everything and the crowds.”
“Fortunately, I wasn’t caught up in any crashes,” Linn added. “It was definitely a really technical course with the cobbles super slippery, a lot of white lines. A lot of adverse conditions.”
The men’s race, which started later, had an easier time of the cycle leg as the sun came out and dried the cobbled streets—although one contestant, Canadian Tyler Mislawchuk was captured on TV vomiting heavily after crossing the finish line.
In between this week’s rainstorms, Paris has seen an ill-timed summer heatwave that is making the Olympic experience even more grueling for athletes and fans.
The hot temperatures have been a particular issue at the tennis in Roland-Garros, were temperatures have risen into the 90s—contributing to an on-court meltdown for American world No. 2 Coco Gauff after a mistaken call by the chair umpire in a singles tie on Tuesday.
Fans at the tennis and other events have had to queue for up to half an hour just to buy overpriced bottles of water. British tennis player Jack Draper, another victim in the sweltering heat at Roland-Garros on Tuesday, complained after his second-round defeat to American Taylor Fritz that the environmentally friendly refillable bottles supplied by organizers failed to keep the water cool and he had been forced to wait at a water fountain at change of ends.
“It was tough conditions, there’s no doubt about it,” Draper told The Times of London. “I said to the referee, it’s pretty poor that the players have to drink hot water when we’re playing in those conditions.
In ancient mythology, Paris, the Trojan prince, found himself cursed by the gods and goddesses of Mount Olympus when forced to choose the most beautiful among them.
Modern-day Paris seems similarly cursed.
