On July 26, Paris will host the 2024 Olympic Games. But what is the state of the Seine River, which once had the highest levels of heavy metals in the world? Will the athletes be able to dive into its waters?
of Nikos Pagoulatos
THE Seinea historic river running through its heart Paris, is a benchmark for the upcoming Olympic Games. But despite its rich history, due to pollution, until recently it was unsuitable for swimming. However, the city has started one huge cleaning job to make the Seine clean – within specifications – so that athletes can swim in its waters in the triathlon and marathon swimming events.
The river of contrasts
The Seine has been a symbol of both its beauty and its dirty waters. At the beginning of the 20th century, the river hosted the Olympic swimming events of 1900but from his decade 1920swimming in the Seine it was banned because of the poor quality of its water. Despite the ban, locals continued to enjoy the river, often taking a dip from the Pont d’Iéna on hot summer days. However, the pollution of the river worsened over time, with a study in the 1990s revealing some of the highest levels of heavy metals in the world.
The unfulfilled promise
In 1990, Mr Jacques Chirac, then mayor of Paris and later president of France, promised to make the Seine clean enough for swimming within three years. Unfortunately, this promise was not fulfilled and the river continued to struggle with pollution.
The challenges of the 2024 Olympic Games
Paris’ bid to host the 2024 Olympic Games included a commitment to hold events not only on the river but also in it. To achieve this, the city launched the Swimming Design (Swimming Plan), a massive project involving thousands of new underground pipes, tanks and pumps designed to prevent bacteria from entering the river, especially during storms.
To deal with the problem of pollution, Paris invests €1.4 billion in building infrastructure to collect more rainwater. This includes a giant underground water storage tank near Austerlitz train station, capable of holding 20 (Olympic-sized) pools of dirty water for treatment. This basin is central to the city’s infrastructure improvements, with the aim of ensuring a cleaner Seine for future generations.
The success of the Seine cleaning project depends to a large extent on weather conditions. A few heavy rains could push the E. coli levels above the safety limit of 900 colony-forming units of bacteria per 100 milliliters, set by the World Triathlon Federation. Paris has experienced more rainy days than usual this year, which poses a challenge to maintaining water quality, and the specialist river monitoring team from Eau de Paris has recorded water purity results showing unsafe.
So despite the efforts of Paris, according to France 24, there are significant concerns about the river’s water quality. THE Pierre Rabadandeputy mayor of Paris and responsible for sport and the 2024 Olympic/Paralympic Games, he told the New York Times that a 100% guarantee cannot be given for the cleanliness of the river. However, he had stressed that if the water quality is not suitable for the Games, the events will be postponed and the water will be re-examined before the athletes dive into the Seine.
Alongside, the flow of the river, which is affected by heavy rainfall, is also a challenge. The organizers of the Paris Olympics, regarding this, have stated that if the Seine has swollen currents the triathlon will no longer include the swimming section, while the swimming marathon will be moved to the Vaires-sur-Marne Naval Stadium in the greater Paris area .
Athletes’ concerns
THE Léonie Périaulta French triathlete who won a bronze medal at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, expressed her confidence in swimming the Seine. “Every time I meet someone, they worry that I’m going to swim in the Seine”Périault said. “But I have been swimming in this river for several years. In youth races, we regularly swam the Seine and never had any problems.”.
However, according to a related report by USA Todaythere are concerned athletes about the safety of the river and the debate about its cleanliness has become a great source of frustration.
The American Open Water Swimmer Ivan Puskovitchwho will take part in the Olympic Games for the first time, has expressed his concern about swimming in the Seine because risk of bacterial infection and has been referred to “delayed efforts by organizers to ensure venue readiness”.
THE Katie Grimes, US 10km swimmer. of women, they are equally cautious by swimming in the Seine, hoping that the ongoing clean-up efforts “will ensure” a safe environment for athletes.
Finally, the American Open Water Coach Ron Aitken emphasized the importance of prioritizing athlete safety and the necessity of a back-up plan, criticizing the lack of a clear plangiven the size of the event.
Safety demonstrations by the government of France
To reassure the public, the French Minister of Sports Amélie Oudéa-Castéra took a symbolic dip in the Seine. This action, as well as her impending plunge Anne Hidalgomayor of Paris, aim to demonstrate that the river is now clean enough for athletes to compete.
This #OlympicDay shows what would #Paris2024‘s games would look like in the heart of #Paris‘ historical center #ReadyFor24 #OlympicDay pic.twitter.com/usMbgIEyZl
— Anne Hidalgo (@Anne_Hidalgo) June 23, 2017
“We kept our promise”, Oudéa-Castéra said, referring to her previous promise to swim the Seine before the Games start on July 26. In the dive he performed, he was accompanied by Alexis Hanquinquantthe flag bearer of the French Paralympic team.
In February, the French president Emmanuel Macron he promised to take a dip himself, but added: “I won’t give you the date – there’s a risk you’ll be there”.
The future of the Seine
While the water quality of the Seine has improved, experts warn that predictions – for now – have fallen out. The improvement of the river’s waters highlights some progress, but the long-term sustainability of these efforts is uncertain – the Seine’s water quality will continue to be closely monitored after the Olympics are over.
As for what will happen with the events that are going to be hosted in its waters, as well as the historic Opening Ceremony which for the first time will not take place in a stadium but in a river, we will find out in the next period. After all, for Paris, the hourglass has already turned and there isn’t enough left until it’s empty. In eleven days the first athletes will have to dive into its waters, or not at all.
Source: www.enikos.gr
