The water quality has been cleared for sailing off Marseille, Olympic organizers announced, despite the French city's officials banning swimming on beaches earlier this week due to heavy rains.

A Games spokesperson confirmed on Thursday that, although swimmers were asked not to swim near the marina from which the sailors launched, the water quality was not below the standards set by World Sailing.

The spokesperson at the venue said that the water quality inside the marina had been perfect because we installed a filter in order to prevent garbage from entering the building.

The pollution of the River Seine was a hot issue in the run-up to the Games. Paris made a huge effort to ensure that the river would be clean enough for swimmers.

The spokesperson explained that eight of Marseille's beaches had been closed to swimming after Sunday's heavy rain. It was common for the authorities to impose restrictions after heavy rain, but they have now lifted them.

The City of Marseille said that the water quality on the beach was not as good as usual, so it closed the beach to swimming. However, the level was still below the maximum set by World Sailing, which allowed for practice.

Marseille authorities test the quality of water twice daily, morning and evening, according to a spokesperson. They also said that the usual testing schedule for the city beaches had been improved. (Reporting and editing by Ed Osmond; Alexander Smith)