Olympians Eye the River Seine: Paris Officials Confident in Upcoming Waterscape Transformation

If the river isn’t clean enough, the swimming portion of the Olympic triathlon might be canceled.

PARIS, France — Water quality concerns led to the cancellation of a scheduled practice swim for the Olympic triathlon in the Seine River. Officials, however, maintain optimism about holding the actual events in the historic waterway this week.

The men’s triathlon is slated for Tuesday, with the women’s competition following on Wednesday. Sunday’s practice run, meant for athletes to get familiar with the course, was called off. The decision came after a meeting involving World Triathlon representatives, local authorities, and other decision-makers to discuss recent water quality test results.

Fluctuations in the Seine’s water quality are often weather-related. Heavy rains during Friday’s opening ceremony and continuous showers on Saturday led to the cancellation. With dry weather expected ahead, officials are hopeful athletes will still have the opportunity to swim in the Seine.

“We’ve observed the Seine’s dynamics over recent weeks, which makes us confident,” said Paris Deputy Mayor Antoine Guillou in a Sunday news conference.

Past rain events have typically seen water quality revert to safe levels within 24 to 48 hours, he added.

Supporting this optimism, Olympic organizers stressed their confidence in improved conditions. Paris 2024 spokesperson Anne Descamps stated, “We are confident the water quality will enhance in the next 48 hours. The concerted efforts of our public stakeholders have significantly boosted the Seine’s water quality.”

Should water quality concerns persist, the primary contingency plan is to delay the triathlon events. If necessary, the swimming portion will be scrapped, leaving athletes to compete in running and biking segments only.

Triathletes remain hopeful the river will be safe for swimming.

The Seine has been off-limits for swimming for over a century due to poor water quality. Paris invested 1.4 billion euros ($1.5 billion) to revamp the river ahead of the Olympics. Besides the triathlon, marathon swimming events are also planned for the Seine later in the Games.

Efforts to enhance water quality have included constructing a massive basin to capture overflow rainwater, renovating sewer systems, and upgrading wastewater treatment facilities. Rainfall on Friday activated the basin near Austerlitz train station, causing it to fill about 20%, Guillou noted.

Early June water tests revealed unsafe levels of the fecal bacteria E. coli, but recent tests showed improvements. Less than two weeks before the Olympics, Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo even took a swim in the river to demonstrate its improved quality.

As of Tuesday, data from Eau de Paris indicated acceptable water quality levels, though this was before the most recent rain. Paris officials withheld more current data, citing that governing bodies must make the final decision on event viability.

Authorities from World Triathlon share Paris and Olympic officials’ optimism that the Seine will be ready for swimming on Tuesday and Wednesday.

World Aquatics spokesperson Torin Koos noted they will reassess the river’s quality closer to the marathon swimming events, which have a training day on Aug. 7.