The women’s Olympic triathlon was marked by chaos, featuring numerous crashes during the cycling segment of the event in Paris.
Leading up to the race, there were significant concerns surrounding the water quality of the River Seine.
On Wednesday morning, organizers cleared both the men’s and women’s events to proceed, sidestepping a ‘last resort’ option of converting the races into duathlons.
However, athletes in the women’s event faced hazardous conditions from a slick road surface, exacerbated by rain in the French capital.
These conditions were a factor in several crashes, resulting in multiple competitors withdrawing from the race.

Several crashes impacted athletes during the women’s Olympic triathlon in Paris

Norway’s Lotte Miller was among those affected during the bike segment

Miller withdrew from the race after crashing twice on the slick surface
Guam’s Manami Iijima was the first to crash, followed by Brazil’s Vittoria Lopes, Germany’s Lisa Tertsch, and Belgium’s Jolien Vermeylen also caught up in incidents.
Home favorite Leonie Periault was similarly affected, alongside Colombia’s Maria Carolina Velasquez Soto.
Lotte Miller experienced two crashes during the cycling leg, with the second forcing her to withdraw from the competition.
Germany’s Laura Lindemann faced a setback in her pursuit of a podium finish after falling with three laps to go in the cycling segment.
Lindemann was in the lead pack of ten but fell behind after her crash.

Guam’s Manami Iijima was the first triathlete to crash during the women’s race

Iijima was one of four athletes forced to withdraw due to a series of incidents

Former British triathlete Annie Emerson noted the greasy road conditions as a factor
‘Laura Lindemann did not make a significant error, she is a highly skilled and competent cyclist,’ former British triathlete Annie Emerson commented on the BBC.
‘The road has grease, which is causing the disruptions we’ve observed in the race.’
‘I’ve never witnessed so many athletes fall in a single race.’
Britain’s Beth Potter and Georgia Taylor-Brown managed to avoid crashes and entered the running segment in the lead group.