What are the pollution levels of the river Seine 13 days before the Games start?

The French Minister of Sports, Amélie Oudéa-Castéra, swam this Saturday in the waters of the Seine in the heart of Paris. This is a very symbolic gesture given the imminent Olympic Games, which begin in thirteen days. Oudéa-Castera, equipped with a wetsuit, swam for a few minutes in an area marked by buoys at the height of the historic Alexander III Bridge.

The swim took place in the company of Alexis Hanquinquant, Olympic para-triathlon champion and flag bearer of the French delegation to the Paralympic Games. “It has been fabulous, a total happiness, it has been great,” the minister declared to RMC radio upon leaving the water, which was also “very good, at 20 degrees.”

“Commitment fulfilled,” she proclaimed, about the objective of all administrations to ensure that the water of the Seine was suitable to compete in some of the Olympic events.

In addition to being symbolic in terms of the safety of the waters of the Seine for swimmers, today’s swim is still a political nod since the minister has gone ahead of the mayor of Paris, the socialist Anne Hidalgo, who had promised to bathe in the river, but had postponed it until next Wednesday because the quality of the waters had not improved.

Precisely, the Sports Councilor of the Paris City Council, Pierre Rabadan, had announced yesterday, Friday, that the waters of the Seine had been suitable for bathing for ten of the last twelve days. “We have no concern about the possible carrying out of all the tests” planned in the river, the councilor said on public radio RFI. Rabadan recalled that there was a lot of rain in May and June, which was an unfavorable factor in ensuring that the water had sufficient quality for bathing because, after all, “the Seine is not a swimming pool.” Still, the situation has improved in the last two weeks.

Which Olympic competitions will be held in the Seine waters?

The waters of the Seine must host the swimming events of the men’s and women’s triathlon, the open water marathon in the Olympic Games, and the triathlon of both genders in the Paralympic Games.

After an investment of around 1.4 billion euros in cleaning up the river as it passes through the capital, the quality of the Seine’s waters was one of the main questions ahead of the Olympic Games.

The weather conditions and abundant rains of recent months in Europe did not help much, and the Paris Games organizers had a difficult job securing and providing a secure environment for the athletes. Still, the newly found situation doesn’t look so grim.