Triathlon: Beaugrand storms home to take gold for France

PARIS: France's Cassandre Beaugrand won gold in the women's triathlon at the Paris Olympics on Wednesday (Jul 31), cheered on by a delighted crowd as the hosts' gamble to hold the swim stage of the race in the Seine paid off after days of uncertainty.

The triathlon, a central showpiece of the Paris Games, started and finished at the Alexandre III bridge at the heart of the French capital, taking athletes along a section of the Champs-Elysees and past more Parisian landmarks including the Musee d'Orsay.

The men's triathlon had been scheduled to take place on Tuesday but, after the river failed water quality tests, it was postponed to 10.45am on Wednesday, immediately after the women's race.

The women began their competition at 8am, just as overnight rain was easing, the triathlon offering spectacular views as they swam in the Seine before racing their bikes and running into central Paris.

A handful of athletes crashed off their bicycles after slipping on the wet cobblestones of the Champs-Elysees.

World number one Beaugrand broke away on the last lap of the run stage and was fuelled to the finish line by ecstatic cheers from crowds lining the streets. Switzerland's Julie Derron won silver and Britain's Beth Potter took bronze.

The races going ahead will have come as a relief for teams and athletes, as well as for Paris authorities who have promised residents a swimmable Seine as a long-term legacy of the Games, with the triathlon a very public test.

The gamble that the river would be clean enough for the triathlon was never guaranteed to pay off as water quality varies widely day-to-day, with rainfall causing concentrations of infection-causing bacteria like E. coli to rise.

"It is with great joy that we received this news,"