PARIS -- Team GB fell just short of defending their Olympic mixed triathlon relay title on Monday as the race went ahead despite fears over the River Seine.
Defending champions Team GB were among the leaders throughout on Monday, although a thrilling three-way dash to towards the line saw Germany take the gold.
Team GB's final leg athlete, individual bronze medallist Beth Potter, was neck-and-neck with the United States' Taylor Knibb and the pair crossed the line without much to split them. It was a photo finish that would rival that of Sunday's men's 100-metre final.
Team GB were soon declared silver medallists. "I found something on the bridge and bridged the gap to the girls. I sat and kicked - I had just enough to get the silver," Potter told the BBC afterwards.
However, a post-race review showed that Knibb had crossed the line before Potter, prompting race officials to reverse the result and push Team GB into bronze.
Yee said: "Initially, there's a bit of confusion. I guess they just hadn't seen the photo finish yet. Of course we are going to be biased, we wanted that silver medal, but we're still immensely proud to get that bronze medal. The efforts that Beth put in that last leg were heroic."
It is the second time the event has been held at the Olympics, with Team GB winning upon its debut in Tokyo.
The first three legs of the race were run by Georgia Taylor-Brown, Samuel Dickinson and individual gold medallist Alex Yee.
It means Team GB have secured three medals - a gold and a pair of bronzes - from the three triathlon races.
The race was in danger of not going ahead due to continued fears over pollution levels of the River Seine. Those fears caused the race's prep swim to be cancelled -- similar to how both individual triathlon prep swims were cut. However, organisers declared it was safe to do so on Sunday night.
Paris has spent over €1.5 billion ($1.4bn) on a project to clean the river, with organisers including World Triathlon, the Paris 2024 organising committee and city officials performing twice-daily tests across four different points on the river.
The decision to allow the event to go forward with swims in the Seine came after Belgium's Olympic committee announced Sunday that it would withdraw its team from the mixed relay triathlon after one of its competitors who swam in the river last week fell ill.
Paris Deputy Mayor Pierre Rabadan has grown visibly weary of questions over the water quality and second guessing of the decision to hold swimming events in the Seine. Swimming in the river has, with some exceptions, been off-limits since 1923 because it has been too toxic.
"It's not about deciding to swim or not. There are rules. There are European regulations. We take samples every day to know whether the water quality is good enough to swim. It's rather factual," Rabadan told reporters Monday.
Heavy rains that have fallen off and on during the Games have caused headaches for organizers as they result in elevated levels of fecal bacteria, including E. coli and enterococci, flowing into the river. Athletes on Monday, however, said organisers reassured them there were no concerns with water quality.
American triathlete Taylor Spivey said the uncertainty was difficult.
"Everyone watching can see what an incredible venue this was for the triathlon," she said, noting that organizers clearly chose the course location for the backdrop of Paris monuments, which included the Eiffel Tower and the Champs-Elysees. "But the constant question of the water quality ... and the current was very stressful for the athletes, I would say, because the contingency plan was only to push the race back, not necessarily like a plan B location."
Her teammate, Morgan Pearson, said the last-minute changes in plans were unfair to the athletes and fans. He also was tired of talking about the water quality in the Seine: "I qualified a year ago and I think, no pun intended, we're all just a little bit sick of the question."
Brazilian triathlete Arnold Djenyfer said the water was fine Monday.
"There was really no difference about the quality of the water today compared to the first race," he said. "We already knew what we were going to face and it was all fine."
Belgium's team withdrew from the triathlon mixed relay after athlete Claire Michel got sick and went to a clinic in the athletes' village for treatment on Sunday.
Paris city officials urged people not to rush to conclusions.
"There's also plenty of other athletes who are sick at the village and have not swum in the Seine. Them, we hear less of," Rabadan, the deputy mayor, said.
Vetle Bergsvik Thorn of Norway, who competed Monday, also became sick in recent days. He said he had a bad stomach illness for about 12 hours but said "it's hard to say if it's the river or just some ordinary food poisoning."
"It's been quite a few stressful days with not knowing if we can swim or not," he said.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.