Rain causes havoc with Paris schedules

　　Puddles at the skateboarding arena as Saturday's events were delayed because of rain.

　　Pouring rain in Paris on Saturday forced the men's Olympics street skateboarding competition to be postponed and tennis matches were also delayed, while athletes had mixed feelings about how to cope with the unexpectedly wet weather.

　　On Friday, a dazzling but soaked opening ceremony for the Summer Games saw thousands of athletes parade on a flotilla of barges on the Seine, at the heart of the French capital, waving to the crowd despite the downpour.

　　Chinese badminton player He Bingjiao laughed when she was asked if she thought the opening ceremony had been beautiful, saying she did not make it because of the weather.

　　“Unfortunately I couldn't attend because of the rain. I had to rest,” she said. “It's not normal to have had a ceremony like this on the boats. I was watching it on my phone.”

　　The rain continued on Saturday, forcing some events to be rescheduled and umbrellas were more in evidence than sunglasses at the beach volleyball at the foot of the Eiffel Tower.

　　“The risk factor becomes too high when skateboarding in the rain,” a spokesperson for World Skate said after Saturday's competition was rescheduled to Monday because La Concorde, the outdoor venue where it was supposed to take place, was drenched.

　　The opening day of the tennis event was also disrupted, with thousands of spectators without tickets for the two main show courts left frustrated after negotiating lengthy queues to get in.

　　Play began on time under the Court Philippe Chatrier roof and across the complex on Court Suzanne Lenglen. But play on the uncovered courts was delayed.

　　However, Paris 2024 organisers said they were confident the triathlon events would take place as scheduled on Tuesday even though the rain might lead to Sunday's training session being cancelled due to concerns over the water quality in the Seine.

　　Some athletes themselves were not that bothered.

　　“I'm from Oslo, so this is a perfect Norwegian summer,” Inger Seim Kavlie, Norway women's double sculls rower, said with a grin as the rained poured down in the mixed zone, close to the finish line. (Reuters)