Organisers had to cancel training this week in the river and postponed the men's race on Tuesday after the Seine was found to be too dirty for athletes following heavy rainstorms last week.
World Triathlon and the Paris Games' organising committee announced around 4am on Wednesday that the women's race would go ahead, followed by the rescheduled men's event.
"The results of the latest water analyses, received at 3.20am, have been assessed as compliant by World Triathlon allowing for the triathlon competitions to take place," said a statement.
Rain fell overnight in Paris, but had stopped by the time athletes jumped off a pontoon laid over the river at the historic Alexandre III bridge in the heart of the City of Light early on Wednesday morning.
#Paris2024 | ? C'EST PARTI POUR LE TRIATHLON FÉMININ !
— francetvsport (@francetvsport) July 31, 2024
?? Il faudra bien suivre nos Françaises Cassandre Beaugrand, Emma Lombardi et Léonie Périault, avec de bonnes chances de médaille !
? À suivre en direct sur : https://t.co/kOJfhQ7QZO pic.twitter.com/RBDo1QtM5w
The race started with a 1,500-metre swim in the Seine, with swimmers doing two laps in the river, with and against the current.
The men's event - postponed from Tuesday - will take place mid-morning on Wednesday.
The marathon swim event, scheduled for next week, is also set to take place in the Seine. Organisers have said that this event will be moved to the water park at Vaire-sur-Marne - which is already hosting canoe and rowing events - if the Seine water quality dips again.
The Olympic triathlon swim is the culmination of a years-long project to make the Seine clean enough to swim in, which has cost city authorities around €1.4 billion.
Once the Games are over, work will begin on constructing swimming areas for members of the public to use over the summer, starting from next year.
The plan is to create 23 bathing sites along the Seine, with 5 in Paris itself and the rest in the suburbs and greater Paris area.
Two of the Paris sites will be located along the left bank of the Seine (in the 5th and 6th arrondissements), one at the edge of the Île Saint-Louis (4th), one at the port of Bercy (12th), and one in the Bois de Boulogne (16th).
These will be enclosed pool-type structures put into the river to create swimming spaces - similar to the temporary pool that is erected each year on the Canal Ourcq at Bassin de le Villette each summer.
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