Flora Duffy of Bermuda competes in the women’s individual triathlon during the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham, England, on July 29, 2022. (AP Photo/Rui Vieira)

A step-by-step plan for the triathlon competition at the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris.

Athletes to watch

Alex Yee, UK: The silver medallist in Tokyo three years ago won a test event on the Paris course last August. He is a former 10,000-metre track runner.

Léo Bergere, France: No. 1 in the men’s Olympic qualifying standings.

Dorian Coninx, France: The 2023 world champion broke his wrist and elbow but said “anything is possible” once the race starts.

Kristian Blummenfelt, Norway: The reigning Olympic champion.

Beth Potter, UK: In 2023, the Glasgow native won the Olympic test event and became world champion.

Flora Duffy, Bermuda: The reigning Olympic champion considered quitting due to a knee injury.

Taylor Spivey, United States: The 33-year-old Californian is making her Olympic debut.

Taylor Knibb, United States: She has won the Ironman 70.3 World Championships in consecutive seasons. She has been competing in triathlons since she was 11. Her mother is a former Ironman competitor.

Storylines to follow

How clean is the water? Specifically, a stretch of the Seine River within sight of the Eiffel Tower, where French President Emmanuel Macron will take a dip. The men’s and women’s triathlons begin with a 1.5-kilometer (0.93-mile) river swim, followed by a 40-kilometer (24.9-mile) bike ride and a 10-kilometer (6.2-mile) run. Cleaning up the long-polluted Seine is a major legacy goal of these Olympics. An open-water swim last August was canceled due to concerns about the water after heavy rain, but triathlon test events took place two weeks later.

Do not block the swimmers with a boat. Triathlon made headlines at the Tokyo Olympics for a chaotic false start in the men’s event, when a cameraman’s boat hit swimmers trying to dive in. Some athletes swam 200 meters before hearing the call for a restart.

A postcard route of races Scheduled from 8:00 to 10:00 Swimmers will dive into the water at the Alexander III Bridge and make two loops back. They will cycle and run a total of 11 times past the Grand Palais, along the Champs Élysées to reach both sides of the Arc de Triomphe. An additional cycling loop goes south of the river past the Parliament Building, the Assemblée Nationale and the Musée d’Orsay.

Important data

The men’s event is on July 30, the women’s event is on July 31, and the mixed team relay is on August 5.

Reigning champions

• Gentlemen: Kristian Blummenfelt, Norway
• Women: Flora Duffy, Bermuda
• Mixed team: Britain