Organizers allowed the women's and men's Olympic triathlons to go ahead today after recent tests of the Seine river water showed lower levels of bacteria, ending days of uncertainty over whether the central Paris swim was viable after heavy rains.

The men's triathlon was scheduled to take place on Tuesday, but was postponed to Wednesday after the river failed water quality tests, KosovaPress reports.

The news that the races will take place today came as a relief to the teams and athletes, as well as to Paris authorities, who have promised residents "a Seine of swimming" as a lasting legacy of the Olympics, with the triathlon a very public test.

"We received this news with great joy," said Benjamin Maze, technical director for the French Triathlon Federation.

"Now that we know we're going to compete, we can mentally go into full competition mode," Maze continued.

Today's races were given the green light despite overnight rain.

Organizers make the call based on analysis of river samples taken the day before at 5 a.m. and after discussions with weather experts, according to Paris 2024.

The showers started again around 5:45 a.m. Wednesday, making race conditions more difficult for the bike stage, which features several sharp turns and a quarter of the course on cobblestone roads.