It is not safe for the athletes to swim in the Seine at the Olympics. And yet, the International Olympic Committee continues to insist that it is doing what is best for the athletes while letting them swim.
Both of those things cannot be true at the same time.
First of all, the Seine ‘River’ is not a river. Paris’ iconic body of water is a drainage basin. All kinds of trash and debris continues to wash up on shore and/or float through the heart of the French capital city.
If that wasn’t gross enough, literal feces leaks into the Seine. Paris’ infrastructure cannot handle heavy rains so the sewage system under the city bleeds into the basin.
As a result, swimming in the Seine has been illegal for more than 120 years. It is contaminated by high levels of bacteria, mostly E. coli.
France spent $1.5 billion to try and clean up the Seine before the Olympics so it could host the men’s and women’s triathlon and a mixed relay. The efforts were a total failure. The water is, quite simply, not clean.
Practice ahead of the triathlon was cancelled because bacteria levels were not safe. Competition was delayed.
Even though the lingering issues were glaringly obvious, Olympic organizers got the results they needed to push forward and hold both triathlons in the Seine last Wednesday.
It was a huge mistake. Multiple triathletes fell sick after swimming in the Seine. Belgian Claire Michel was rushed to the hospital with an E. coli infection. Whatever “tests” came back with safe results obviously didn’t matter because the bacteria was a major problem.
The swimming marathon and mixed relay are scheduled for the Seine later this week. A test swim was cancelled on Tuesday because the water was unsafe, just as it was before the triathlons.
Belgium already pulled out of the remaining open-water events after Michel was hospitalized because it’s not worth the risk. Meanwhile, the International Olympic Committee claims that it is doing whatever it takes to keep the athletes safe.
I was an athlete myself and I believe that our role here around the table is to protect the athletes because it’s they who will first take the plunge.
— IOC member Martin Fourcade on Aug. 5
That is absolutely the correct thing to say. However, for Martin Fourcade to claim that the athletes are the priority while actively planning to hold the remaining open-water swim events in the Seine after multiple bacteria-related illnesses from the triathlons is outrageous. Obviously not!
Otherwise, the Olympics would’ve moved all of the competitions out of the Seine a long time ago…