Paris Olympics in limbo about whether Seine will be safe enough for swimming events

As Paris gets ready to host the 2024 Olympic Games, the city’s iconic Seine River has prompted safety concerns for athletes participating in the marathon swimming and triathlon events.

Undeterred by the concerns, 75-year-old Joel Stratte-McClure bravely tested the waters of the Seine on the Fourth of July, showcasing his determination and personal risk.

“I’m very impressed with everything the French have done to try to clean up this river, which is filthy, and want to celebrate it,” Stratte-McClure said. “If things go really bad and I don’t survive the swim, it will at least give an alert to the American and other swimmers in the triathlon that maybe they shouldn’t do it.”

Stratte-McClure, a journalist from California, was in the water for about 20 minutes and said he was feeling fine after his swim.

Paris officials claim that extensive cleanup efforts will minimize health risks from bacteria and pollution by the time the competition starts on July 26. Additionally, the plan is to open three public bathing sites by next summer as part of ongoing efforts to improve the river’s reputation.

Since 2016, Dan Angelescu’s company, Fluidion, has been diligently testing the water quality of the Seine River, and this practice has continued every day since early April.

During heavy rains, sewage can overflow into the river. For example, on June 18, after several days of rain, E. coli levels in the Seine River jumped to roughly 10,000 Colony Forming Units per milliliter, more than 10 times the safety limit.

“What we’ve seen year after year is these big storm events, especially after a long dry period, can really make water quality degrade significantly,” Angelescu said. “Bacteria level in hundred to hundred-thousand range for example. It stays there and then drops down again.”

Officials are hopeful that good weather, particularly the sun’s UV rays, can play a significant role in improving water quality, and say these rays have the potential to kill bacteria, providing a ray of hope and a potential solution to the water pollution issue.

According to the latest findings published by Paris City Hall, the last week of June saw four days when the water was clean enough to swim in, according to European standards, but no days when it was clean enough to swim in according to U.S. standards.

Ivan Puskovitch, the fifth American man to ever qualify for the Olympics in open-water swimming, says, “At the end of the day, it’s the Olympics, and the safety of the athletes has to come first.”

He says athletes have been informed that their events might be delayed by a few days if the water quality is not good enough for swimming.

“I think my biggest fear with regard to the Seine is that we suddenly find ourselves a few days after the event and realize, oh, and the organizers say, OK, like this actually isn’t going to be able to happen because of the water quality, Puskovitch said.”

During the 2016 Rio Games, several athletes reportedly became ill after being required to swim in the polluted Rio Bay. Puskovitch has now joined other athletes, such as Brazilian open-water swimmer Ana Marcela Cunha, in calling for organizers to develop a backup plan.

Officials initially insisted there would be “no plan B,” but organizers revealed their contingency plans on July 5. They mentioned that open-water swimming might take place in the Marne River instead. In addition, officials could delay the triathlon event or, in the worst-case scenario, eliminate the swimming portion of the competition.

“I mean, like, the Seine is iconic,” Puskovitch said. “And it would be amazing to say that, like, I was one of the first people to swim in it after such a long time of people being barred from it, at the Olympic Games.”

As the Games draw near and the quality of the Seine is out of anyone’s control, the focus is on these athletes bringing home a medal.

“You know, it’s like I can only control what I’m going to do and how I’m going to respond to it in the face of their decisions and the pace of their actions,” Puskovitch said. “And, you know, I really got to maintain that same mentality in this situation because no amount of stress, no amount of worrying is going to make the Seine clear.”