Heavy rain in Paris has led to the cancellation of a swimming event on the River Seine that was to be a test for the Olympic Games next year, but organisers insist the waterway will be better prepared in 2024.
The Open Water Swimming World Cup event was aborted because “the water quality in the Seine has remained below acceptable standards for safeguarding swimmers’ health”, the French Swimming Federation said on Sunday in a statement.
Water quality falls below acceptable standards when rain causes overflows of untreated waste into the Seine. Paris is spending massively on water-management projects that officials say will make pollution caused by storms less frequent.
“Disappointed is the right word,” the French Swimming Federation head, Gilles Sezionale, said on local radio. “First and foremost disappointed for the athletes, who were dreaming of competing in one of the most beautiful locations in the world.”
The World Aquatics president, Husain al-Musallam, said the organisation was “disappointed … but the health of our athletes must always be our top priority”, adding: “World Aquatics remains excited at the prospect of city-centre Olympic racing for the world’s best open-water swimmers next summer. However, this weekend has demonstrated it is absolutely imperative robust contingency plans are put in place.”
The Seine is the venue for marathon swimming at the Games and the swimming leg of the Olympic and Paralympic triathlon.
Paris 2024 organisers and the city’s authorities said in a joint statement that “in recent weeks, water quality in the Seine has regularly reached the levels required for competitions to be held on the dedicated site, demonstrating the significant progress made”.
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They said water quality will be closely monitored in the coming days in the hope that triathletes can race in the Seine during a test event scheduled for 17-20 August. “By 2024, new infrastructure will be delivered to further improve rainwater treatment to improve water quality.”
Those public works include a giant underground reservoir in Paris that will stock excess water during storms, so it doesn’t have to be spilled untreated into the river and can be worked on later. They also claim the schedule for Olympic events in the river can be adjusted if water quality does not allow them to take place on their original dates. Their statement said the recent weather was “exceptional”, with the Paris region seeing its heaviest summer rainfalls since 1965.
The news comes after at least 57 people fell ill with sickness and diarrhoea after competing in sea swimming events at the World Triathlon Championship Series in Sunderland last weekend.
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