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Women triathletes dove off a blue pontoon into the Seine river on Wednesday morning after the water finally tested as safe for competition, following days of delays and fierce criticism of Paris Olympics organisers.

“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 the organisers and World Triathlon. 

The announcement came after two practice sessions were cancelled and the men’s triathlon was postponed by 24 hours to Wednesday because of high levels of E. coli and other bacteria in the water.

The French government had insisted on holding the swimming leg of triathlon races in the Seine, in an effort to revive bathing in the Parisian river after a century-long ban. Authorities spent €1.4bn on a years-long infrastructure push to make the Seine clean enough for the competition, but the plan remains entirely weather dependent.

When it rains heavily, as it did on Friday and Saturday, the city’s antique sewers overflow into the river so as to avoid flooding the streets with sewage. Paris sought to mitigate that risk by building a massive underground storage tank that could capture up to 46,000 cubic metres of wastewater to avoid it going into the river after storms. 

But the system was overwhelmed by the bad weather last week, putting at risk organisers’ often repeated promises that the river would be ready for the triathlon and marathon swimming. For several days tests showed E. coli and other bacteria levels were higher than the level of 900 colony-forming units limit set by World Triathlon as safe for competitions.

President Emmanuel Macron celebrated the long-awaited moment with a reminder of the state’s financial commitment. “Here we are! The Seine is swimmable,” he said on social media on Wednesday.

The triathlon was supposed to be a highlight of the Paris Olympics given that the course was set against the dramatic backdrop of the Seine and well-known monuments — the swimming starting at the Pont Alexandre III bridge, followed by cycling and running along the Champs Élysées and past the Musée d’Orsay. 

Instead, it began a flashpoint for criticism that the organisers had put their desire for postcard perfect event backdrops ahead of the needs of athletes who train for years to be able to compete in the Olympics. There was no back-up site for the triathlon to be held if the river was too dirty to swim, although one was set for marathon swimming, the other event to be held in the Seine.

With more summer storms forecast in the coming days, it remains unclear if the mixed triathlon relay and marathon swimming can be held next week.

On Wednesday, tens of thousands of fans were lined up along the Seine and the Champs Élysées to cheer on the triathletes.

French athlete Cassandre Beaugrand broke through the finish line first to win the country’s first gold medal in the event. Switzerland’s Julie Derron won silver, and Team GB’s Beth Potter won bronze.

Megan Thee Stallion told a crowd at a Kamala Harris rally last night (30 July) that the US is “about to make history with the first Black female president”.

The Texas rapper, 29, performed at the event in Atlanta, Georgia, in front of a crowd of 10,0000, as the vice president and Democratic candidate continues her campaign for president.

The Grammy winner performed four songs at the rally: “Girls in the Hood”, “Mamushi”, “Body”, and “Savage”.

As she introduced her track “Body”, she told the audience: “Now I know my ladies in the crowd love their bodies – and if you want to keep loving your body, you know who to vote for.”

Harris is well known for her stance on abortion rights. She spent considerable time on the Joe Biden campaign trail advocating for abortion rights after the Supreme Court overturned Roe v Wade in 2022.

In March, Harris made history by visiting a Planned Parenthood clinic in Minnesota – marking the first time a sitting US president or vice president is believed to have visited an abortion provider.

Megan Thee Stallion also called Harris “our future president” and told the crowd they were “about to make history with the first female president – the first Black female president.”

“Let’s get this done, hotties. Hotties for Harris,” she added.

Atlanta rapper Quavo, who was also present, praised Harris for her work on addressing gun violence. The artist set up the Rocket Foundation in 2022 after his nephew and Takeoff was shot and killed aged 28.

He said: “You can’t understand the struggles of gun violence if you’re not in the field or in the heart of it. So one thing I learned about working with Vice President Harris is she always stands on business.

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“From inviting me to the White House last year to discuss these solutions, to passing the biggest gun safety laws today.

“So it’s only right in the birthplace of the culture, it’s also the same place that launched the first African-American woman to run for president. We’re changing the culture again.

“So if you never voted before, make sure you get out and vote right now because it’s the real one. And in the words of my brother Takeoff, let me get a Kamala.”

Quavo and Megan Thee Stallion are the latest of many figures from the music world who have shown their support for Harris, including Ariana Grande, Lizzo, Olivia Rodrigo, Beyonce and British singer Charli XCX.

After Biden withdrew from the race and Harris was announced as the new Democrat frontrunner, Charli XCX referenced her latest hit album as she declared on social media: “Kamala IS brat.”

The concept of “Brat”, the title of the Charli XCX’s latest album, has been described by the singer as someone who has a “pack of cigs, a Bic lighter and a strappy white top with no bra”. It is seen as a rejection of the “clean girl” aesthetic – swapping a groomed look for something more scrappy and care-free.

Harris’s campaign HQ immediately welcomed the support and jumped on the bandwagon, changing its background image to the neon green and font used for the “Girl, So Confusing” singer’s album artwork.

Many fans have also been making videos that combine clips of Harris speaking with songs from the album.

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China’s manufacturing activity fell for a third consecutive month in July, according to an official survey, increasing pressure on policymakers to speed up stimulus measures to boost the world’s second-biggest economy.

The country’s official manufacturing purchasing managers’ index came in at 49.4, in line with a Bloomberg poll of analysts’ forecasts and down from 49.5 in June. A reading above 50 marks an expansion compared with the previous month.

China’s politburo this week called for faster implementation of a stimulus programme, and the central bank has cut interest rates as the government tries to meet its economic growth target of 5 per cent for this year.

China’s economy is suffering from weak domestic consumption as a prolonged property slowdown and tighter government control over business undermine confidence.

At its recent five-yearly strategic policy meeting, Beijing emphasised high-end manufacturing and an upgraded industrial sector over property and household consumption.

The non-manufacturing PMI came in at 50.2 in July, still in growth territory and in line with analysts’ forecasts of 50.2 but down from a reading of 50.5 in June.

China’s National Bureau of Statistics said on Wednesday that among the sub-indices, production was 50.1, down 0.5 from the previous month but still indicating a slight expansion.

The new order index, however, was 49.3, down 0.2 from the previous month and indicating that the demand in the manufacturing market had declined.

Employment in manufacturing and non-manufacturing was below the 50-mark, indicating weakness in the labour market.

Despite the struggling housing market, construction activity was in positive territory. Services were flat at 50, down from 50.2 the previous month, with some areas such as entertainment and sport booming while others such as retail and capital markets were in contraction territory.

“Lower commodity prices and steel production point to weakened growth momentum of manufacturing activity in July,” Goldman Sachs wrote in a report released ahead of the figures.

It attributed the lower services PMI to “the persistent weakness in property and financial services sectors”.

Morgan Stanley analysts said ahead of the figures that deleveraging among local government financing vehicles and in the housing sector were posing “gravitational drags on the economy”. Emerging industries — electric vehicles and green energy — were also suffering overcapacity.

They said policymakers were attempting to counter fiscal tightening by widening the use of the proceeds of long-term government bond issuance to support consumption and capital expenditure. But “policy pass-through may take time”, they wrote.

China’s government has issued Rmb1tn ($138bn) of ultra long-term special government bonds to fund infrastructure and other projects and provide a stimulus to the economy.

It has also announced schemes to revitalise the property market, including a Rmb300bn programme to buy unsold housing unveiled in May.

But the real estate measures have been seen as too little to have a large impact, and economists have said that more structural measures are needed to restore investor confidence and stimulate consumption.