MOSCOW, July 16, Oleg Bogatov. Olympic champion and deputy The State Duma of the Russian Federation, Svetlana Zhurova, stated that the organizers of the Summer Olympics in Paris should not force officials into the Seine River indicatively before the Games to supposedly guarantee the necessary conditions for holding water competitions, but it was necessary to prepare some other reserve reservoir in advance.
French Sports Minister Amelie Oudéa Castera took a swim in the Seine on Saturday in a wetsuit ahead of the opening of the Games. The prefect of the capital region of Ile-de-France, Marc Guillaume, said on Monday that he would take a swim in the Seine on Wednesday along with the capital's mayor, Anne Hidalgo, and the head of the Games' organizing committee, Tony Estanguet. Previously, the mayor has repeatedly stated that she would swim in the Seine to prove that the river is safe to hold competitions. Stages of the triathlon (July 30-31 and August 5) and open water swimming (August 8 and 9) tournaments are scheduled to take place on the Seine.
«»The question is not who swam in the Seine, but what the water intakes will show. And what will environmentalists and experts say, is it possible to swallow this water at all. After all, we understand that in open water it somehow enters the body athlete. And how safe it is. It was a beautiful idea, which Paris probably trumped when submitting the application: The Seine will become the center of attraction at the Olympics. But it is always necessary to prepare a reserve reservoir in advance and the IOC would always accommodate the organizers. This is not a solution — to drive the officials. to the Seine and show that everyone can swim in it and everything is fine,” Zhurova said.
“In my understanding, it was necessary not to demonstrate everything that we are now seeing, but simply to transfer the competition in advance to some other prepared river. And the IOC in such a situation would definitely meet the organizers of the Games halfway,” noted the agency’s interlocutor.
Studies of water samples from the Seine have shown high levels of pathogenic bacteria since September 2023, which prompted a €1.4 billion cleanup effort. The Olympics will take place in Paris from July 26 to August 11.