The president of the Organizing Committee for the Paris 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games was surprised on Wednesday by the study by the NGO Surfrider Foundation, revealing too high a bacteriological concentration in the river.
Published on 04/10/2024 7:07 p.m.
Reading time: 1 min The Alexandre III bridge, which should host the starts of the triathlon, paratriathlon and marathon swimming during the Paris 2024 Olympic Games. (KANAME MUTO / YOMIURI)
Cojop is staying the course. Tony Estanguet, president of the organizing committee for the Paris 2024 Games, said he “surprised”, Wednesday April 10 at a press conference, of the study by an NGO concerned about the quality of the water in the Seine, where Olympic and Paralympic events are to be held this summer. The NGO Surfrider Foundation revealed on Monday the presence of several bacteria in the river, including Escherichia coli and enterococci, at levels higher than the standards defined by the International Swimming Federation.
“I was a little surprised that we did a study on water qualities in the middle of winter, times when the rivers are not in a state that allows swimming”commented Tony Estanguet, while the NGO qualified“alarming” the state of the waters of the Seine after taking 14 samples between September 2023 and March 2024. “It was never a question of wanting to swim in the Seine during the wintersays the president of Cojop. The objective, already, is to succeed in being able to swim during the summer, and everything is done to ensure that this is the case from next summer.”
The prefecture and the ministry renew their confidence
The Paris prefecture has also reaffirmed its confidence in hosting several events in the Seine this summer (triathlon, paratriathlon and marathon swimming): “The water quality of the Seine will be there”promised a press release published on Wednesday, also ensuring that the “Bathing plan (…) finishes rolling out”while around 1.4 billion euros was invested by the State and local authorities so that people can swim in the river. “We move forward with serenity”, summarized Tony Estanguet. Tuesday, the Minister of Sports and Olympic Games, Amélie Oudéa-Castéra, also reacted to this study by saying “trusting” In “the objective of reducing the bacteriological pollution of the Seine by 75%”.
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2024-04-11 01:43:35
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