Pouring rain disrupts Games after drenched opening ceremony

By Amy Tennery, Richa Naidu and Karolos Grohmann

PARIS (Reuters) - 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 water creates a lack of traction that is extremely dangerous, especially in consideration of the cement and metal obstacles they're skating," the spokesperson said.

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.

And outside the Arena Champ-de-Mars, where the judo dojo is located, hundreds of fans braved the weather to queue to get in ahead of busy evening that could see France win its first medals, including a possible gold for Luka Mkheidze in the under 60 kg category.

HOT WEATHER DUE

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, told Reuters with a grin as the rained poured down in the mixed zone, close to the finish line.

"I think we'd like some sun for our families who are here to watch, that would be nice. I think they're happy either way, but I'm sure it's not what they imagined."

Meteo France, France's official weather forecaster, predicts that the weather will dry up on Sunday, before getting very hot next week, with a peak of 36 degrees Celsius (96 degrees Fahrenheit) on Tuesday.

The Olympics' organisers said they had to execute a complex logistical operation to keep the athletes as dry as possible in Friday evening's four-hour opening ceremony.

Athletes tend to hesitate to take part in a Games' opening ceremony, fearing it could disrupt their preparation.

The weather made things even more difficult but organising chief Tony Estanguet said the athletes were taken to an area to dry out after the boat parade. They were also given an area to rest during the ceremony.

"They were satisfied with the logistics in place," Estanguet told a news conference.

Estanguet said the weather did not make it easy for athletes to join in, "so thank you to them for doing their part".

While some spectators left the opening ceremony to escape the rain, many said they nevertheless loved the show.

"It was magnificent," said 50-year old Parisian Cathy Manzano. "The rain didn't stop us from seeing the best opening of the Olympic Games in Paris."

(Reporting by Karolos Grohmann, Richa Naidu, Martyn Herman, Philip O'Connor, Amy Tennery; Writing by Ingrid Melander; Editing by Alison Williams)