American swims in Paris’ Seine River ahead of Olympics despite pollution fears

PARIS (AP) — A 75-year-old American swimmer took a plunge into the Seine River on Thursday, braving murky waters in central Paris to celebrate the Fourth of July and highlight French government efforts to clean up the river. Olympic Games.

And his timing was good: Just hours later, regional authorities released data showing that the river’s water quality had improved over the past week, raising hopes that it could host Olympic swimming events after all.

Joel Straty-McClure, who last swam the Seine in 1976 for a magazine cover shoot and turns 76 this month, said he was impressed by the progress made. river cleaningbut there are still concerns about its safety.

“I may regret swimming, but if I come back alive, it will prove that the French did a good job of cleaning up the river,” McClure said before entering the water.

Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo initially planned to swimming in the seine Last month to prove her cleanliness – prompting many of her critics to launch an online campaign in which they threatened to defecate in the river on the day of her dive.

But she postponed her swim after President Emmanuel Macron called early legislative elections that plunged France into political tension and overshadowed the excitement of the Olympics for many. Heavy rains in recent months have also led to faster currents than usual for this time of year, and Hidalgo says she will take the river in mid-July instead.

“I think the president called new elections to avoid swimming in the Seine,” McClure joked.

After a short swim, he declared the water “wonderful” and hoped others would follow his lead and benefit from the cleanliness of the river.

Marathon swimming and triathlon competitions are scheduled to take place in the river near the Alexander III Bridge during the Olympic Games, which run from July 26 to August 11, and the Paralympics, which run from August 28 to September 8.

Unsafe levels of E. coli Bodies were found in the river last week for the third week in a row. But on Thursday, regional authorities released new findings showing an improvement.

Test results from monitoring group Eau de Paris show that on all but one day, from June 26 to July 2, contamination levels were below the safe limit of 900 colony-forming units per 100 millilitres set by the International Triathlon Union for competitions.

French officials remain optimistic, insisting there is no plan B for open water swimming at the Olympics.

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AP Olympics: https://apnews.com/hub/Paris-Olympic-Games-2024