The swim in the Seine by the mayor of Paris Anne Hidalgo, initially planned for Sunday June 23, before the Olympic Games (JO), will “probably be postponed” due in particular to a high flow of water, we have learned Friday with the City. The Olympics will be held from July 26 to August 11.
“Due to the heavy rains in May and the very strong flow of the river, swimming on June 23 will probably be postponed,” the City told AFP.
Star of these Olympics, the Seine will host the opening ceremony as well as the triathlon, swimming-marathon and paratriathlon events.
But seven weeks before the Olympic Games, suspense remains over the holding of the Olympic events since the August “test events” which had to be largely canceled: the quality of the water did not correspond to European standards based on two fecal bacteria, Escherichia coli and enterococci. Plan B consists of postponing the tests for a few days, but not changing location.
In addition to the flow measured at the beginning of June, four to five times faster than expected, making swimming dangerous, the volume of precipitation since November and the absence of sunlight, which kills bacteria, have an impact on water quality. .
The most likely postponement date for the socialist mayor’s swim is Sunday June 30.
The French open water swimming team, which planned to train in the Seine on Monday June 10, will not do so.
Since 1er June and the commissioning two days earlier of a rain and wastewater retention basin, with a capacity of 50,000 m3, daily samples are taken upstream of the Olympic site. In the event of intense precipitation, untreated water – a mixture of rain and wastewater – can be released into the river, a phenomenon that retention structures are intended to prevent.
Diving into the Seine in summer is one of the biggest benefits expected from these Games for the population.
Three swimming areas are due to open to the public in the summer of 2025 in Paris: the Bras Marie, located between the Marais and the Île Saint-Louis, the Quai de Bercy and the Bras de Grenelle, not far from the Eiffel Tower.