Water dilemmas in Olympic triathlon are nothing new, from stray boats to shark watches to bacteria

PARIS (AP) — Contrary to a recent action/horror movie, there are no sharks in the Seine. There was a shark watch, though, at the very first Olympic triathlon in 2000 during the Sydney Games.

At the Olympics, water dilemmas are nothing for triathlon swimming.

A boat once got in the way of an Olympic triathlon, too. And now, two of the last three Summer Games triathlons have dealt water quality concerns swirling around the swim portion.

There always seems to be something with a sport that combines swimming, cycling and running. The trials and tribulations of staging the men’s and women’s triathlon competitions in Paris’ famed waterway are just the latest chapter.

Organizers have been adamant in their insistence the swimming portion of the triathlon and the marathon swimming events next week could safely be held in the river. There have been health questions leading into the event, similar to Rio in 2016 at the Copacabana beach.

“I understand they’re great waterways and they’re sources of pride and all that, but I don’t think it’s worth it just to do this,” Dr. Nicole Iovine, an infectious diseases specialist at the University of Florida, said. “Why put anybody at any level of risk? It just doesn’t make sense. It’s something that cannot be completely controlled from a health and safety perspective. And since there are alternatives, why take the risk?”

The scenery around the Seine was certainly picturesque, especially with the Eiffel Tower in the backdrop as the triathletes finished on the bridge that spans the waterway.

However, the competition was plagued by concern over the water quality. Elevated levels of bacteria delayed the men’s race. But the competition was held and the views played well on television as athletes cycled and ran by Paris' finest attractions.

“We’re lucky enough to have probably the most beautiful venue of any race in the Olympics,” gold medalist Alex Yee of Britain said.

It was all part of an ambitious plan to clean up the long-polluted Seine, spending 1.4 billion euros ($1.5 billion) in infrastructure improvements. A few swim practice sessions needed to be scratched and the men's race pushed back a day due to water quality and held after the women’s race.

“I didn’t think the Seine was that dirty (Wednesday),” said French triathlete Léo Bergere, who won the bronze medal. “Big cities always have to deal with the pollution. Today they managed to deliver.”

Leading into the Rio de Janeiro Olympics, the waterways around the city remained contaminated with raw human sewage teeming with dangerous viruses and bacteria, according to a 16-month-long study commissioned by The Associated Press at the time.

The AP conducted tests revealed Copacabana Beach, where the marathon and triathlon swimming were to be held and thousands of tourists were likely to swim, exceeded California’s limit five times over 13 months of testing.

Eight years later, a private concessionaire is working to recover the aquatic ecosystem in Rio’s western zone. The project's goal is to remove enough silt and filth from the Barra and Jacarepagua lagoons to fill 920 Olympic-size swimming pools.

Divers remained on the lookout for sharks in the waters of Sydney Harbour during a rehearsal swim in 2000, when triathlon made its Olympic debut.

None were spotted. It was just a precaution to calm nervous competitors. The divers used an electrical device to release low frequency signals.

Fast forward to 2024: There's a Netflix film that was recently released called “Under Paris" that stars a shark and involves a triathlon in the Seine.

Move that boat!

The Olympic men’s triathlon needed a restart after dozens of competitors jumped into the water at the Tokyo Games in 2021 while others were stuck on the dock. Because their path was blocked by a boat containing cameras that had moved in the way.

The buzzer was sounded to signal a false start and bring the racers back to the dock. It wasn't heard by everyone and some of the initial leaders were about 200 meters out before they eventually stopped swimming and were ushered back to try again.

The Los Angeles Games are about to be on the clock. The marathon swimming and triathlon competitions are expected to take place at the waterfront in Long Beach. Stay tuned.

AP Olympics: https://apnews.com/hub/2024-paris-olympic-games

Technicians remove the pontoon for the start of the triathlon events after the event was postponed over concerns about water quality in Paris' Seine River, at the 2024 Summer Olympics, Tuesday, July 30, 2024, at the Pont Alexandre III bridge in Paris, France. (AP Photo/Vadim Ghirda)

FILE Competitors enter the waters of Copacabana beach during the men's triathlon event of the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Thursday, Aug. 18, 2016. (AP Photo/Felipe Dana, File)

FILE - Athletes return to the dock after a false start for the men's individual triathlon at the 2020 Summer Olympics, Monday, July 26, 2021, in Tokyo, Japan. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong, File)

FILE - Triathlon competitors swim in Sydney Harbor with the Sydney Opera House and Harbor Bridge as backdrops during a trial run of the Olympic triathlon, Sept. 10, 2000. (AP Photo/Rick Rycroft, File)

Athletes compete in the swimming race in the Seine River during the women's individual triathlon at the 2024 Summer Olympics, Wednesday, July 31, 2024, in Paris, France. (Martin Bureau/Pool Photo via AP)

Athletes dive into the water for the start of the women's individual triathlon competition at the 2024 Summer Olympics, Wednesday, July 31, 2024, in Paris, France. (AP Photo/Vadim Ghirda)

Australia's Natalie Van Coevorden, center, competes in the swim leg of the women's individual triathlon competition at the 2024 Summer Olympics, Wednesday, July 31, 2024, in Paris, France. (AP Photo/David Goldman)

Hungary's Zsanett Kuttor-Bragmayer, left, splashes water on her face before the start of the women's individual triathlon competition at the 2024 Summer Olympics, Wednesday, July 31, 2024, in Paris, France. (AP Photo/Vadim Ghirda)

LONDON (AP) — Daniel Dubois didn't have to dethrone anyone to become a world heavyweight champion. So he has something to prove when he makes his first title defense before one of the biggest crowds in British boxing history.

If he successfully defends his IBF belt on Saturday by beating fellow Briton Anthony Joshua in front of 96,000 fans at Wembley Stadium, Dubois might just transform himself into boxing’s next big thing.

“I’m getting used to the idea that I’m the world champion but I think I need to legitimize it by beating AJ," Dubois told The Associated Press in an interview. “That’s the way I do it and cement my name, cement my legacy in the sport of boxing.”

The 27-year-old Dubois was awarded the belt in late June after then-undisputed heavyweight champion Oleksandr Usyk of Ukraine relinquished it.

He knows that most boxing fans — the British ones in particular — want to see Joshua become a three-time champion to set up a long-anticipated showdown with Tyson Fury.

But the hard-punching Dubois — a south London native who has been boxing since the age of 7 — has plans of his own.

“Make him quit, break him down, unleash hell on him,” Dubois said of his strategy for fight night.

Nicknamed “Dynamite,” the 6-foot-5 (1.95-meter) Dubois has had obstacles to overcome on his path to Wembley.

He hopes to make the 34-year-old Joshua quit but Dubois himself had to answer questions about quitting after he took a knee and was counted out in the 10th round against Joe Joyce on November 2020. That was his first professional loss.

Dubois' left eye had been swollen shut — there was an orbital bone fracture and nerve damage.

He bounced back by winning four straight bouts to earn a title shot at Usyk last summer. The fight was held in Poland, where many Ukrainians have taken refuge because of Russia's invasion of their country.

With huge support from his compatriots, Usyk stopped Dubois in the ninth round. Boxing is never far from controversy and this fight had its share: Dubois had dropped the champion in the fifth round but the referee ruled it a low blow and allowed Usyk several minutes to recover.

Since then, Dubois responded with two knockout victories. Despite being comfortably ahead of 333-pound Jarrell Miller, Dubois piled on the pressure in the final round, getting the stoppage in the final seconds of the bout. Dubois bloodied Filip Hrgovic early and stopped the Croatian in the eighth round.

The impressive win over Hrgovic in early June gave Dubois the “interim” title weeks before Usyk relinquished the belt. It also means 20 of his 21 wins have come via knockouts. The only time he went to points was six years ago in his eighth professional fight.

Back in 2017, it was then 27-year-old Joshua who spectacularly knocked out Wladimir Klitschko in a title fight at Wembley in front of 90,000 fans.

Dubois says it's his turn.

“This is my time now, and I’m ready to take it with both hands, show the world what I’m all about," he said, pointing to a Usyk rematch as his next goal even though the Ukrainian has talked about returning to cruiserweight after his Dec. 21 rematch with Tyson Fury.

He also wants to make his family proud. His father, Dave Dubois, raised 11 children in a household where sports and music dominated. Dubois says he doesn't play any instruments or sing though. His younger sister Caroline Dubois is also a successful pro boxer.

Officially, it’s the first time they’ll square off but Dubois and Joshua had a much-debated sparring session about a decade ago. It seems clear that Dubois caught Joshua — who two years earlier had won gold for Britain at the London Olympics — with a good punch, but beyond that it’s just rumors. Promoter Frank Warren has said that sparring session led him to sign Dubois.

“Sparring is sparring, this is a fight. It bears no relevance to today,” Dubois said. “It was good for me at the time, but I’m a new man, a new fighter now. I’ve put that behind me. I’m the man of the future.”

He suspects most of the crowd — and perhaps many of those watching on DAZN's streaming service — will be on AJ’s side.

“They probably will be overlooking me," he said. "It’s up to me to prove them wrong."

AP sports: https://apnews.com/sports

British boxer Anthony Joshua arrives at the Odeon Luxe Leicester Square, London, Tuesday Sept.17, 2024. (Bradley Collyer/PA via AP)

FILE - Britain's Daniel Dubois, left, and Ukraine's Oleksandr Usyk during their world heavyweight title fight at Tarczynski Arena in Wroclaw, Poland, Saturday, Aug. 26, 2023. (AP Photo/Czarek Sokolowski, file)

FILE - British former world champion Anthony Joshua, right, and MMA fighter Francis Ngannou fight during the heavyweight boxing showdown at Kingdom Arena in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, Saturday, March 9, 2024. (AP Photo, file)

British boxer Daniel Dubois arrives at the Odeon Luxe Leicester Square, London, Tuesday Sept.17, 2024. (Bradley Collyer/PA via AP)

British boxer Daniel Dubois arrives at the Odeon Luxe Leicester Square, London, Tuesday Sept.17, 2024. (Bradley Collyer/PA via AP)