Paris mayor Anne Hidalgo took a dip in the French capital's River Seine on Wednesday (July 17), ahead of Olympic events being held in the famed river despite concerns of water quality, Reuters reports.
Hidalgo had promised to swim in the Seine in an effort to mark the arrival of the Games and dispel worries that the river is not clean enough and ready to stage swimming events at the Olympics.
The triathlon and marathon swimming legs of the Olympics, which run from July 26 to Aug. 11, are due to be held in the Seine. The famous river was used in the 1900 Paris Olympics.
Hidalgo's swim near the Pont Marie bridge followed Sports Minister Amelie Oudea-Castera's move to bathe in the Seine on Saturday (July 13), becoming the first political figure to go into the river ahead of the Games.
"You go into the water, it seems natural and easy, the water is really, really good, a bit cold, but not too much,” Hidalgo said, adding that the Olympics served as a “driving force and accelerator” of the cleanup initiative.
Hidalgo, wearing a short wetsuit, was joined by Paris 2024 President Tony Estanguet and Paris region prefect Marc Guillaume for the swim.
Estanguet said Wednesday’s feat sends a strong message to athletes, who will start arriving to the host city’s Olympic village on Thursday (July 18), that the events set in the Seine will take place as planned.
Guillaume said the Seine water quality has been swimmable in the past three weeks.
“This is a great satisfaction,” he said, adding that if a rainy episode leads to a degradation of the water quality, the Olympic organisation committee has planned “contingency days.”
