Guy Heveldt: TVNZ sports reporter on the triathlon events unfolding at the Paris Olympics

The triathletes have taken the plunge at the Olympics and gone for a swim in the dirty Seine.

Apparently it's not dirty. The tournament organisers declared the water safe to swim in, so both the men's and women's races went ahead tonight.

TVNZ sports reporter Guy Heveldt spoke to D'Arcy Waldegrave live from the streets of Paris as it all unfolded.

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:06):
You're listening to the Sports Talk podcast with Duncie Wildergrave
from News Talk Z'B.

Speaker 2 (00:12):
Let's go now to my former colleague, mister Guy have Velt.
He's over in Paris, along with pretty much everyone in
media in the whole country. Everyone's found themselves over there.
You like being an auckland Wood and a guy?

Speaker 3 (00:25):
How are you? Former colleague but still a friend? See
great to chat to you. Yeah, very good, but warm.
If I feel like or sound like rather I'm out
of a little bit of breath, it's because I'm rushing
to get to the start of the men's triathlon after our.

Speaker 4 (00:41):
Television bulletin, So just be with me. But yeah, beautiful day.

Speaker 3 (00:43):
It has dawned now at rain this morning, and I've
got to be honest.

Speaker 4 (00:48):
I was well.

Speaker 3 (00:49):
I was going to say I was surprised at the
swimming when I hit I'm surprised in terms of them
saying that apparently the readings were okay for them to
swimming after the rain that we had, But I'm not
so surprised that they just pushed go anyway. But we
are about what an hour or so away from the
men's triathlon the women's triathlon, if not has already finished.

Speaker 4 (01:08):
It would be very close to old thought.

Speaker 2 (01:10):
Yeah, our fifty one and I'm actually watching it on
the TV now. So the French ones leading this, followed
by the Swiss, but that's another story for another day.
You said, surprise, what's the general chat around the state
of the scene. But as there's been two point four
billion New Zealand dollars trying to clean it up because
it's been a filth pit for one hundred years.

Speaker 3 (01:30):
Yeah, well, it has been illegal to swim in the
sem for so long, and as you say, there's been
billions of dollars to clean it up. They say so
yesterday when we had a press conference with Olympic Committee
bosses and also World Triathlon bosses, they said that they
did numerous tests throughout the triathlon course. Three of them
were above the threshold in terms of safety and one

(01:51):
was considerably so. So you fast forward twenty four hours
and as I say, there's been rain this morning. So
I would have wondered, how on earth the quality of
the water gets better when there has been rain falling
from the sky.

Speaker 4 (02:04):
I don't think that's the case.

Speaker 3 (02:05):
I think they just really wanted to get this done
with a swim in saying all of that. I think
the athletes are very happy that this is going ahead as.

Speaker 4 (02:14):
A triathlon for a couple of reasons.

Speaker 3 (02:16):
No one wants to win a duathlon at the Olympics
when it's meant to be a triathlon and have that
asterisk next to the name for the rest of their days.
And kind of following on from that, you know, there
are athletes in this race who are very good swimmers
who would have had that element of the race taken
away from them. So I think the right thing has happened.

(02:37):
Whether it's the best thing in terms of health, I'm
not so sure, but I am personally glad we're having
a triathlon race.

Speaker 2 (02:43):
We we'll find out later in the piece. I don't
mean it depends if anyone comes down terribly sick, but
we'll know. We don't know that immediately not I know, Guy,
an asterisk next to your name, You've still got a medal.

Speaker 4 (02:58):
I mean, yeah, I know what you mean.

Speaker 3 (03:00):
But the athletes are, and rightfully so they'll always have
questions for the rest of their careers saying, oh, you
want to gold medal, but you did it without the
swim leags, So was it really a triathlon, do you.

Speaker 4 (03:11):
Know what I mean? And they don't want that, so
they're all I know that.

Speaker 3 (03:15):
Well, maybe not all of them have spoken to all
of them have really only got a gauge from Hayden,
but he said that most of the field is happy
that it is going ahead as a triathlon.

Speaker 2 (03:23):
What's been like after the outrageous success of the women's
sevens silver, gold, gold, This is quite the legacy, This
is quite the eerror.

Speaker 3 (03:36):
There are a lot of athletes who deserve gold medals
in this New Zealand team, or medals at all, but
few more so, if any more so, than that team.
The way they play, how good they are, the players
that they've got, the way they conduct themselves.

Speaker 4 (03:51):
The ease with which they allow media.

Speaker 3 (03:54):
Access, which is sometimes a bit of an anomaly, I
should say in New Zealand rugby circles, they are outstanding.

Speaker 4 (04:03):
And I was just so delighted for them to win.

Speaker 3 (04:05):
There was a bit of pressure on them because everyone
expected them to them and in that final they hadn't
really been tested all tournament, but in.

Speaker 4 (04:11):
That final by Canada, I thought they were pushed quite far.

Speaker 3 (04:14):
Canada played very very well tested the blackfurn sevens. But
I think that resolved players like I know, Sarah hit
and he gave away some penalties, but man, when it mattered,
she just stepped up massively. What a phenomenal players she is.
Blid They couldn't seem to find a way to stop
her Portchal Wooden Wincliffe was outstanding, Stacy Waker, Georgia Miller,

(04:34):
recy Pody Lane, and even the rest of the women
who came on as well.

Speaker 4 (04:38):
It was just a full team performance.

Speaker 3 (04:41):
And I've been lucky enough to spend well a full
day with them in recent times, and as I say,
they're just a delightful bunch of people that deserve a
gold medal so much so, Yeah, really happy with that.
Let's hope that it opens the floodgates for a few
more in the next next few days and maybe even
the next hour or two.

Speaker 2 (04:57):
Well we'll see, and well we let you go, and
thanks very much for joining us. Guy Hevelt at a
Paris courtesy of TV in Z.

Speaker 1 (05:05):
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