Olympians jumped into the River Seine after an early morning notice told teams the murky water was safe to continue with the triathlon. This spared France from the embarrassment that a Paris 2024 central promise would be swept away.

It was promised that the waterway would no longer be a sewage-filled river, but one which is clean enough for swimming. The authorities spent 1.5 million euros on modernizing the antiquated sanitation systems in Paris.

The torrential downpours which soaked up the opening ceremony of the Games and the day's first sport have pushed the bacteria levels in the river above the safe level, forcing the postponement to Wednesday of the triathlon for men and causing questions about the effectiveness of the works.

Here we are! "Here we are!" exclaimed President Emmanuel Macron on X. In just 4 years we have achieved what has not been possible for 100 years - the Seine can now be swum.

Women were first in line to compete in the triathlon, which includes running, swimming and cycling. The home favourite would win.

Cassandre Beaugrand

. The men were next to jump off the pontoon that sat under the Alexandre III Bridge, close to Napoleon's Tomb.

The infrastructure project included new pipes for houses and houseboats, which once pumped raw sewage directly into the river. It also involved additional treatment plants as well as a large reservoir under the Gare d'Austerlitz in the capital.

It was built to contain 46,000 cubic meters of storm runoff during a rainstorm. This would prevent untreated sewage from mixing with the water and causing it to flow into the Seine.

The results of Wednesday's morning tests showed that at every sample site, the E.Coli bacteria and Enterococcus Faecalis had been below the European Safe Limit Thresholds.

Plan B, which would have converted the triathlon into a duathlon, was not liked by athletes or organizers. Beaugrand, who had fought hard to win the race, downplayed concerns over water quality.

She said, "We have swum into worse situations."

GREEN LIGHT

The last time Olympians swam the Seine was at the 1900 Paris Olympics. In 1988, former Paris mayor Jacques Chirac promised he'd swim "in front of witnesses" in the Seine. However, his promise never came true.

Anne Hidalgo's campaign to turn Paris into a more green urban landscape, which has often drawn the anger of Parisians, was at the heart of the Paris 2024 River Swimming.

This month has been a busy one for us.

Hidalgo

She did it to demonstrate her confidence in its cleanliness. However, the stunt was delayed due to the pollution level.

We won! After the start of the triathlon, the Paris Mayor told reporters that the pollution had been cleaned up.

The races for Wednesday were still on despite overnight rain.

According to Paris 2024, the decision is made based on the analysis of samples collected from the river the day before at 5 am and discussions with weather experts.

The focus now shifts to the Marathon Swimming on August 8-9, shortly before the Games conclude. Organisers, who cannot afford to postpone events, have announced that these will be relocated to the rowing venue in the event the river becomes too dirty.

(source: Reuters)