Continued rain postpones skateboarding, delays tennis at Paris Olympics

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South Africa’s Boipelo Awuah gets acquainted with the street skateboarding course during a women’s practice session ahead of the 2024 Summer Olympics, Thursday, July 25, 2024, in Paris, France. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II)

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A maintenance worker sweeps water off a skateboard ramp installed on a floating platform ahead of the opening ceremony for the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris, France, Friday, July 26, 2024. (Stefan Wermuth/Pool Photo via AP)

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Maintenance workers sweep water off a skateboard ramp installed on a floating platform ahead of the opening ceremony for the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris, France, Friday, July 26, 2024. (Stefan Wermuth/Pool Photo via AP)

By KRISTIE RIEKEN

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.

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“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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AP Summer Olympics: https://apnews.com/hub/2024-paris-olympic-games

Olympic Hightlights

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FILE - South Africa’s Jacques Freitag competes in the men’s high jump of the 2004 Olympic Games, in the Olympic Stadium in Athens, Friday Aug. 20, 2004. Local media is reporting that South African police have discovered the body of former high jump world champion Jacques Freitag after he went missing last month. The reports said the 42-year-old, who won the 2003 world title in Paris and competed at the 2004 Olympics, had been shot. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip, File)

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FILE - Ilona Maher of USA is tackled by Sharni Williams of Australia in a semifinal of the Rugby World Cup 7’s championship held in Cape Town, South Africa, Sunday, Sept. 11, 2022. The main task for Maher, the breakout social media star on TikTok at the Tokyo Olympics, is winning a medal in Paris. (AP Photo/Halden Krog, File)

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FILE - Jacques Freitag of South Africa waves his national flag after he won the Men’s high jump event at the World Athletics Championships, at the Stade de France in Saint Denis, north of Paris, Monday, Aug. 25, 2003. Local media is reporting that South African police have discovered the body of former high jump world champion Jacques Freitag after he went missing last month. The reports said the 42-year-old, who won the 2003 world title in Paris and competed at the 2004 Olympics, had been shot. (AP Photo/Thomas Kienzle, File)

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Sammy Sullivan of USA in action during HSBC rugby sevens series in Singapore, on May 4, 2024. The anthem played as Army officer Sammy Sullivan stood to attention and saluted beside her U.S. rugby teammates before a gold-medal game in Hong Kong against Olympic champion New Zealand. No prizes for guessing where her mind may have drifted to: Paris in July. (AP Photo/Suhaimi Abdullah)

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USA Water Polo Women’s Senior National Team attacker Ryann Neushul, left, trains at Long Beach City College Thursday, Jan. 18, 2024, in Long Beach, Calif. Following in the footsteps of two older sisters who won gold with the U.S. women’s water polo team, Ryann Neushul is making her Olympic debut in Paris this summer. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes)

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Iranian wrestler Iman Mahdavi, 28, practices at the Lotta Club Seggiano gym, in Pioltello , northern Italy, Wednesday, Feb. 28, 2024. (AP Photo/Luca Bruno)

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FILE - Steven van de Velde of the Netherlands competes during the CEV Beach Volley Nations Cup Vienna 2022 men’s semifinal game against Austria at the Red Bull Beach Arena in Vienna, Austria, Sunday, Aug. 7, 2022. Van de Velde, convicted and imprisoned eight years ago for raping an underage girl in England has qualified for the Paris Olympics. (AP Photo/Florian Schroetter, File)