PARIS: The start of the men’s 20-km race walk at the Paris Olympics was postponed by 30 minutes on Thursday due to an early morning thunderstorm.

The race that loops back and forth along the Pont D’Lena in the shadow of the Eiffel Tower was scheduled to begin at 7:30 a.m. (0530 GMT), but was rescheduled to 8 a.m.

The race walk is back in the Olympic host city after it was held in Sapporo during the 2020 Tokyo Olympics to beat the high temperatures expected in Tokyo.

Marileidy Paulino dodges rain, aiming for Olympic 400m glory

The men’s triathlon had to be delayed one day in Paris after rain contributed to poor water quality in the river Seine.

Both the men’s and women’s races were held on Wednesday.