More than worrisome: are the competitions of the Paris Olympics organized in excrement?

Opening image: MTI/EPA/Ian Langsdon

It has been forbidden to bathe in the Paris section of the Seine for a hundred years. Not by chance. The water quality of the river that crosses the French capital is unsuitable due to its pollution: due to boat traffic and sewage inflow – it is logical that the swimming competitions of the Olympics for the open water discipline and triathletes would be held here. There is still no solution and no other plan.

Terrifying data

According to an analysis by the Surfrider Foundation, only one of 14 water samples taken recently shows that the river is safe for swimming. According to a report by the US Environmental Protection Agency

– writes zoldpalya.hu. The NGO’s research showed that the amount of enterococci and Escherichia coli bacteria was alarmingly high. The water treatment plants in the upper reaches of the river are oversaturated during rains, which may be the main cause of the problem. According to the foundation conducting the investigation, this is exacerbated by barges and waterfront apartments not connected to the sewage network.

Failed

The magazine also announced: to remedy the problem, the city spent 1.4 billion euros on a water purification project, a 50,000 cubic meter rainwater reservoir is being built at the Austerlitz bridge. This underground reservoir is designed to hold water during storms and then release it back into the sewer system. In 2018, the connection of all ships to the canal network was made mandatory in Paris, but this provision did not bring the expected results.

Who drinks the juice?

Although the president of the Paris organizing committee expressed confidence that the water quality of the Seine will settle down for a while, he also admitted that there is still some uncertainty surrounding the events. For this reason, it is even conceivable that the triathlon will become a duathlon due to the lack of swimming, but many people understandably object to this, and the athletes who qualify for the 10-kilometer open water swim can easily be left behind. It would be a worldwide scandal, while, for example, Kristóf Rasovszky would go into the distance as the silver medalist of Tokyo and the current world champion of the distance. Ana Marcela Cunha of Brazil, who started as the defending champion at the Paris Games for women, expressed concern about the water quality of the Seine.

“There were no test competitions last year due to water pollution, but the organizers insist that the Olympic competitions will be held in the river. You need a backup plan because the Seine is not for swimming.

said the 31-year-old Cunha.