FILE PHOTO: Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo swims in the Seine, to demonstrate that the river is clean enough to host the outdoor swimming events at the Paris Olympics later this month, in Paris, France, July 17, 2024. JOEL SAGET/Pool via REUTERS/File Photo
PARIS (Reuters) - Swimmer Victor Johansson is looking forward to the novel challenge of swimming in the Seine at the Paris Olympics, but the Swede had one question after seeing the city mayor take a dip in the river.
Clad in a wet suit and goggles, Mayor Anne Hidalgo swam in the river on July 17 to show that the water would be safe for Johansson and his fellow swimmers and triathletes during the Games, which run from July 26 to Aug. 11.
"I saw some videos but the question is - how did she feel the day after?", a smiling Johansson told Reuters before his team departed for Paris.
"That's my question, but then again, a lot can change - she was in it just a few days ago, and the open water event for me is on the ninth of August, which is still weeks away."
Hidalgo attended a media lunch on Tuesday and appeared to be in good health after her swim, according to a Reuters correspondent who attended the event.
The French capital has put enormous effort into ensuring the river will be clean enough to compete in, building a huge storage basin capable of holding 46,000 cubic metres of waste water.
According to a recent Seine water quality bulletin, the river should be suitable for swimming for six out of seven days during the Olympic competitions, but that could change depending on weather conditions and rainfall.
"If the levels of E. coli bacteria are over the recommended limit, of course I want them to change the venue," Johansson said, adding that he hoped that such a change would not be necessary.
"This is kind of bringing some extra energy, some extra hype into the open water, and I would love to swim in the river if it's safe enough."
The 25-year-old long-distance specialist revealed that, due to the absence of the lanes found in pools, open-water swimmers might have more to fear from their fellow competitors than from bacteria in the water.
"We're about 30 or 40 swimmers that are gonna throw themselves in the water at the same time, and there's gonna be a lot of fists and knees and kicks, and it's a lot more physical," he said.
"I've finished races with bruises and blood coming out of my mouth and my eyes because they hit your goggles. It's a lot more physical than a regular pool, because I've never swam a race where someone ends up in my lane."
(Reporting by Philip O'Connor, editing by Ed Osmond)
