PARIS (AP) — Rain that fell throughout the opening ceremony continued on Saturday, leading to postponements and delays at the Paris Olympics.
The first event of the skateboarding competition, men’s street skateboarding, was postponed from Saturday until Monday because of the showers. The women’s event is scheduled for Sunday.
Skateboarding is held at the outdoor venue of La Concorde Urban Park in Paris. World Skate, the sport’s governing body, cited adverse weather conditions for the move.
Rain has been one of the big stories early in the Games after constant showers and occasional downpours served as the backdrop for the opening ceremony. As of 10 a.m. CEST (4 a.m. ET), much of the rain had cleared from the area.
The start of play in the scheduled tennis matches on the 10 smaller courts at Roland Garros was delayed because of rain, but action was able to get going in the two main stadiums, which both have retractable roofs. That included the match at Court Philippe Chatrier between No. 1 Iga Swiatek of Poland – who has won four of the past five French Open titles at the same site being used for the Olympics – and Irina-Camelia Begu of Romania.
The men’s and women’s time trials that opened the Olympic cycling program went off as scheduled from Les Invalides, but the streets of Paris were made so treacherous by the rain that several top riders hit the deck in both races.
Among them was Chloe Dygert, the reigning world champion from the U.S., who crashed hard going through a left-hand turn but managed to remount her bike and finish third. She was left nursing her left leg at the finish line.
“I love these conditions,” Dygert insisted. “I just think it depends on the roads and where we are. Paris and Italy and Spain, they are all known for their icy slick roads. It’s just how it goes.”
Sunny skies are expected to return to the area Sunday, but the rain could have a lasting impact on the Paris Games.
The rain could threaten the water quality for swimming in the Seine when the triathlon begins Tuesday. Tony Estanguet, head of the Paris 2024 organizers, addressed the situation at the daily press briefing.
“We are still looking at the forecast for the coming days,” Estanguet said. “They expect that it will rain till 5 p.m. today and then it should be fine.
“The team is very confident that it will be possible to have the (triathlon) swimming part in the Seine.”
The triathlon begins with the men’s event Tuesday, swimming from 8 a.m. CEST (2 a.m. ET) at the Alexander III bridge next to Grand Palais.
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AP Sports Writers Graham Dunbar, Steve Whyno and Dave Skretta and AP Tennis Writer Howard Fendrich contributed to this story.
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