Pre-Olympics test events in Paris’ Seine River called off due to pollution
Pollution in Paris’ Seine River forced the cancellation of two pre-Olympics test events over the weekend, once again raising questions about whether the body of water will be clean enough to host swimming events at next year’s Summer Games.
Paris 2024 organizers have insisted that open-water swimming events will be held in the Seine. The river flows through downtown Paris with picturesque views — but swimming in it hasn’t been legal since 1923 because the water is not clean.
“There is no solution to move the event, the triathlon and open water swimming will be held in the Seine next year,” lead organizer Tony Estanguet told German outlet Deutsche Welle, emphasizing that there is no Plan B.
World Triathlon scheduled events in Paris beginning Thursday to test the Seine less than a year before the opening ceremony. The first two events, on Thursday and Friday, went off as planned.
But on Saturday, tests showed high levels of E. coli bacteria in the water, Agence France-Presse reported. That resulted in the cancellation of a paratriathlon event. Tests remained inconclusive on Sunday, so a mixed relay was also scrapped.
“As a precautionary measure and to protect the health of the athletes, the decision has once again been taken to cancel all the swimming races scheduled for today,” organizers said in a Sunday statement.
France has spent 1.4 billion euros, or about $1.5 billion, trying to clean up the Seine so it can be used for the 2024 Olympics. However, heavy rains still cause the Parisian sewer system to overflow, and excess wastewater is dumped into the Seine.
Former Parisian Mayor Jacques Chirac vowed in 1990 to make the Seine swimmable again, but his plan never came to fruition.
With News Wire Services
