Paris mayor finally swims in Seine to show cleanliness for Olympics – National

Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo finally Seine River Wednesday, fulfilling the promise Trying to convince skeptics Its waters will be clean enough to host Olympic swimming events.

Hidalgo jumped into the water around 10 a.m. on a sunny summer day in Paris, and despite multiple delays due to heavy rain and concerns about water quality, tourists packed a nearby bridge to catch a glimpse of her.

Hidalgo, wearing a diving suit and goggles, was joined on the Seine by Tony Estanguet, Paris Olympics The organizing committee, etc. At first she paddled, then dipped her face in the water, swimming freestyle.

“We train really, really hard, and then you get in the water and everything looks so natural,” Hidalgo said after his swim. “The water is really, really nice and a little bit cool.”

Olympic triathlon and marathon swimming events will be held in the Seine from July 26 to August 11. According to the latest Seine water quality bulletin released on July 12, based on water quality analysis by the Paris Water Authority, the water quality at the Olympic swimming venues is suitable for swimming six days of the week.

The decision on whether to hold an Olympic event will be made the night beforeand the decision was made in the early hours of the same day by a technical committee made up of athletes, international federations, regional authorities and Météo-France.

“The first athletes will arrive tomorrow and this is a very important message that the Seine is finally swimmable and triathlons and swimming competitions can be held here,” Estangue said.

Paris has been working to clean up the Seine so that people can swim in it again, as was done during the Paris Olympics in 1900. Former Paris mayor Jacques Chirac promised in 1988 that he would swim in the Seine “in full view of the public”, but his dive never took place.

The city built a huge reservoir that holds 46,000 cubic meters of wastewater, which then flows through tunnels to a treatment plant. When the water reaches the required sanitary standards, it is dumped into the Seine.

If the river is deemed unsuitable, organizers have contingency plans: the marathon swimming event will be held in Vail-sur-Marne, where the rowing and canoeing events are held, and the triathlon will be changed to a duathlon.

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Paris Olympics: Will the Seine be clean enough to win gold?

Jenn Fluet, a 21-year-old tourist from New York, said Hidalgo was very brave. When asked if she would follow suit, Fluet said: “Of course not! It’s dirty there.”

Quentin Mazars, 33, a member of the swimming club who swam in the Seine with Hidalgo, said Hidalgo was “very careful not to swallow the water.”

Pierre Suzeau, 66, a member of the outdoor swimming group, was refreshed after his swim.

“We are delighted to finally see swimming in an urban environment become a reality,” he said. “We hope that the Seine and the canals will soon be fully open for swimming.”

French Sports Minister Amélie Oudéa-Castéra had already swum in the river on Saturday.

(Reporting by Gabriel Stargardter; Editing by Alison Williams)