Following months of concerns and days of postponements, Olympic triathletes dove into the Seine River on Wednesday after officials declared the levels of E. coli bacteria to be safe.
The men’s event had been scheduled for Tuesday, and practices earlier in the week were called off entirely. But by Wednesday afternoon, the water was deemed safe enough for women’s triathletes to dive in. The men’s event followed hours later.
“It’s magic,” Paris Games chief organizer Tony Estanguet told French TV. “It’s a very important legacy for Parisians to be able to swim from next year in the Seine.”
France spent $1.5 billion to clean up the Seine in the years ahead of the Games, and pressure was on organizers to make sure the events went off without a hitch. If the triathlon couldn’t happen before Saturday, officials planned to cut the swimming portion entirely.
French leaders celebrated Wednesday’s races as a monumental achievement, as swimming the Seine had been banned for more than a century because it wasn’t safe.
“Thanks to a massive investment…we have achieved in just 4 years what was impossible for 100 years: the Seine is now swimmable,” French President Emmanuel Macron wrote on Twitter.
By 2025, everyday Parisians should be able to swim in the Seine as well, according to officials.
In the triathlon events, Cassandre Beaugrand of France won gold in the women’s event, followed by Julie Derron of Switzerland and Beth Potter of Britain. In the men’s race, Alex Yee of Britain won gold, Hayden Wilde of New Zealand took silver and Léo Bergère of France earned bronze.
With News Wire Services
