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On Wednesday morning (July 17), Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo took a dip in the Seine River to confirm that the water is safe enough for the forthcoming Paris Olympics swimming events, scheduled to take place in the river.
The incident took place at around 10 AM local time with several witnessing the dip from nearby bridges. Notably, the mayor was scheduled to swim a few months earlier but was delayed due to heavy rain and concerns about water quality.
"We have worked very, very hard and then you go down into the water and it seems natural,” Hidalgo told media after the swim.
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Hidalgo sported a wetsuit and goggles for her dip in the Seine and was accompanied by the Paris Olympics Organizing Committee chief Tony Estanguet. After the conclusion of her swim, she assured everyone that the water quality was good, though a bit cool.
"The water is very, very good, a little bit cool," she added.
Open water events to take place at the Seine River in Paris Olympics 2024
The open water events - triathlon and marathon swimming events for the Paris Olympics will be held on the Seine River. Interestingly, the recent water quality tests proved that the water is safe for swimming on most days of the event.
Paris Olympics technical committee will decide whether to host these events a day before each event.
"This is a very important message that, finally, the Seine is swimmable, and the triathlon and swimming events can be held here,” Tony Estanguet stated.
It’s worth noting that Paris made a lot of significant efforts to clean the River Seine. Recently, the officials built a large storage basin for wastewater. Also, after receiving huge backlash, the organizers have come up with Plan B for the open water events.
According to the backup schedule, if the water is deemed unsafe, the marathon swimming event will be changed to a duathlon and shifted to Vaires-sur-Marne.
Importantly, Paris has been working extensively to clean up the Seine River so people can swim again. Although former Paris Mayor Jacques Chirac promised in 1988 that he would swim in the Seine, it never happened.
