The Open Water Swimming World Cup, a crucial qualifying event for marathon swimming at the Paris 2024 Olympics, faced uncertainty as heavy storms led to a decline in water quality in Paris’ river Seine. Participants were barred from their Friday morning training session due to the water quality dropping below health standards, as confirmed by the French Swimming Federation (FFN).
While the women’s 10-kilometre race is still scheduled for Saturday, its occurrence depends on the results of a new river water quality test scheduled for Friday evening. The FFN stated that if swimming conditions remain unfavorable on Saturday, both the men’s and women’s races will be rescheduled for Sunday.
The FFN spokesperson assured that regular water quality tests are conducted, and there has been some improvement in recent times. However, the challenges of heavy rainfall causing sewage system overflow and subsequent river contamination with fecal bacteria E.coli and Enterococcus persist.
Efforts have been ongoing to restore the Seine’s water quality to make it swimmable once more, recalling its use during the 1900 Paris Olympics. The city has committed to this cause since 1990, but the completion of an 80 billion euro underground overflow basin aimed at preventing contamination is expected before summer 2024.
Cancellation of the Seine swim meets would present a negative image for Paris ahead of the Olympics. Earlier qualifying races took place in pristine locations like Egypt’s Soma Bay in the Red Sea and Italy’s Golfo Arancini in Sardinia. The focus now remains on the water quality test results, hoping to allow the event to proceed safely and successfully despite the challenges posed by the storm’s impact on the Seine River.
