German triathletes sprint to finish for Olympic mixed relay gold over U.S.

Laura Lindemann won a thrilling sprint finish to give Germany gold in the Olympic triathlon mixed relay on Monday, outkicking the United States and Britain after highly-fancied France were scuppered by a bike crash on the first of four legs.

There was a photo finish for second place, with officials initially announcing Britain as runners-up but minutes later they announced a switch, with the U.S. getting the silver and Britain the bronze.

Alex Yee, winner of the individual race last week and who anchored Britain to relay gold in Tokyo, gave the defending champions an early lead with a scorching run, with France 40 seconds back in last place after Pierre le Corre was brought down on the bike leg.

Georgia Taylor-Brown, also part of the Tokyo gold-medal winning team, was caught by Germany’s Lisa Tertsch at the halfway point but Sam Dickinson handed individual bronze medallist Beth Potter a slight lead.

Potter, Lindemann and a charging Taylor Knibb came off the seven-kilometre bike leg together but the German found just enough at the end.

“I believed in myself and I just gave it my all. It’s amazing, I can’t describe it in words. The team did such a great job and we deserved it so well,” Lindemann said.

Tim Hellwig, who kicked off the relay for Germany and was also part of the country’s winning team in the world mixed relay championships in Hamburg last year, said his teammate’s finish was so exciting to watch.

“We know she has one of the strongest kicks in world triathlon, but you always have to pull it off on the biggest stage, it’s always one day and anything can happen but we trusted in her and she did the job in the end,” said Hellwig.

France, who had been hoping to upgrade their Tokyo bronze in the event, finished fourth after Le Corre crashed with New Zealand’s Hayden Wilde on the first bike lap and his teammates could not make up the lost time.

Improved water quality in the Seine

Athletes plunged into the Seine on Monday after organizers said the bacteria levels in the long-polluted Paris waterway were at acceptable levels.

The plan to hold the swimming portion of the triathlons and the marathon swimming events in the Seine was an ambitious one.

Swimming in the river has, with some exceptions, been off-limits since 1923 because it has been too toxic.

Representatives from World Triathlon and International Olympic Committee along with Paris Games organizers and regional and weather authorities met Sunday night to review water tests. The results indicated the water quality at the triathlon site had improved over the preceding hours and would be within the limits mandated by World Triathlon by Monday morning, they said in a statement.

The decision to allow the event to go forward with swims in the Seine came after Belgium’s Olympic committee announced Sunday it would withdraw its team from the mixed relay triathlon after one of its competitors who swam in the river last week fell ill. It was not clear whether her illness had anything to do with her swim in the Seine.

Paris spent 1.4 billion euros ($1.5 billion US) on infrastructure improvements to clean up the river that flows through its centre.

Heavy rains that have fallen off and on during the Games have caused headaches for organizers as they result in elevated levels of fecal bacteria, including E. coli and enterococci, flowing into the river.

Drenching rains fell Thursday night, but conditions had otherwise been dry except for light rain Saturday evening. The sun shone brightly as the race unfolded Monday and athletes said organizers reassured them that there were no concerns with water quality.

Organizers have continued to express confidence that warm temperatures and the sun’s ultraviolet rays would combine to kill enough of the germs ahead of each event set to include a swim in the Seine.