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NBC Broadcast Reports E.Coli Levels in Seine “Too High” During Opening Ceremony

2024 PARIS SUMMER OLYMPIC GAMES

The Seine River is a central feature of the 2024 Paris Olympics. Not only is it playing host to the opening ceremony with athlete delegations carried on boats down the iconic river, but open water and triathlon are scheduled to use it for their race courses.

Paris Games organizers have spent over a billion euros (approximately 1.5 billion USD) on a years-long effort to clean up the Seine and get it ready for the Olympic and Paralympic athletes. But even as athletes float down the river as part of the opening ceremony, questions about the Seine’s cleanliness remain. On their live broadcast of the ceremony, NBC broadcasters reported that E. coli levels in the river are “too high” today. If the triathlon or open water events were scheduled for today, July 26, they would be postponed.

In April, Tony Estanguetpresident of the Paris 2024 organizing committee, warned that heavy rain could lead to dangerous levels of pollution in the Seine. It is currently raining in Paris, the first time that it’s rained at an opening ceremony since 1952. Pollution and the potential for high E. coli levels are part of the reason that organizers scheduled the triathlon events for early in the Games’ schedule, Estanguet explained.

Open water swimming events are scheduled for August 8 and 9, which means less flexibility to move the competition. On August 9, the date for the women’s 10K, there is a 60% chance of rain. It could also be windy on both days, making the Seine choppy.

After months of reiterating that there was no Plan B if the Seine was unsafe to swim in, organizers finally unveiled a Plan B for open water events. The backup plan for the triathlon events would be to just shorten the triathlon to a duathlon.

After reports of improving enterococci and E. coli bacteria levels, Paris mayor Anne Hidalgo fulfilled her promise to swim in the Seine. Hidalgo postponed her initial dip but jumped in on July 17 with Estanguet, regional prefect Marc Guillaume, and French open water swimmer Enzo Gallet.

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Troyy
3 months ago

If at any moment the Seine can be flooded with dangerous levels of e coli I think we can conclude that their plan to clean the river has failed.

Becky D
3 months ago

It would have been nice if the legacy of a “green” Olympics would be a cleaned up river.

WestCoastRefugee
3 months ago

LOL. There is not a city in the world (at least any large city) that I would ever swim in a river that flows through it. Maybe (big maybe) upstream from the city. For a city as large and old as Paris, you are essentially swimming in a sewer.

FST
Reply to  WestCoastRefugee
3 months ago

I live in Vienna and the Danube here is very nice to swim in. We do it all summer long and it’s constantly tested and very clean. I would absolutely not swim in the Seine though.

oxyswim
Reply to  WestCoastRefugee
3 months ago

https://runsignup.com/Race/IL/Chicago/ChicagoRiverSwim Chicago is doing its first swimming event in the river this fall. Wonder how many bodies were sunk in the river at the height of the Chicago moon days.

Spieker Pool Lap Swimmer
3 months ago

It would be nice to know exactly how high the levels are

AndyB
Reply to  Spieker Pool Lap Swimmer
3 months ago

And where he got the info from.

Rob C
Reply to  Spieker Pool Lap Swimmer
3 months ago
Weinstein-Smith-Ledecky-Sims
3 months ago

Just one whiff should send thousands to the hospital.

This Guy
3 months ago

Who could have seen this coming?

About Braden Keith

Braden Keith

Braden Keith is the Editor-in-Chief and a co-founder/co-owner of SwimSwam.com. He first got his feet wet by building The Swimmers' Circle beginning in January 2010, and now comes to SwimSwam to use that experience and help build a new leader in the sport of swimming. Aside from his life on the InterWet, …

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