Will they swim in the Seine for the Paris Games? Sport minister hits the river to ease concerns
She promised she would swim in the Seine before the Games, and she did.

Well that sure is walking (or maybe, in this case, swimming) the talk. France’s Minister of Sports, Olympics and Paralympics, Amelie Oudéa-Castéra, “kept a promise” and dove into the Seine River on the weekend along with French Paralympic champion Alexis Hanquinquant.

Hanquinquant has been selected as the French flag bearer for the Paralympics.
Promesse tenue ! 🏊
Avec @AHanquinquant, notre champion paralympique de triathlon, qui fêtait son rôle de porte-drapeau à Paris 2024 ! 🇫🇷 pic.twitter.com/SsJYaWwhSS
— Amélie Oudéa-Castéra (@AOC1978) July 13, 2024
The weekend’s swim comes in the midst of continued controversy over the water quality in the Seine just weeks out from the Paris Olympic triathlon event. Earlier this month World Triathlon released water testing stats from June 24 to July 2 that indicated the water quality was improving.
“In spite of a rather significant water flow, the Seine water quality has improved over the period, and the results are consistent with the thresholds as determined by the European directive over six days (from 24 to 29 June, 1 and 2 July for almost all sampling sites),” World Triathlon reported. “This positive evolution is due to the return of sunshine and warmer temperatures, and to the works carried out as part of the Seine Water Quality Improvement Plan.”
Olympic triathlon could be delayed or swim cancelled according to Paris 2024 president
Paris Olympic and Paralympic organizers, along with various levels of government, have made cleaning up the waters of the Seine River a focal point of preparation for the Games. Over the last eight years the various government stakeholders (State, City of Paris and others) have invested over 1.4 billion Euros to try and clean up the Seine so three events could be hosted there for next year’s Olympics and Paralympics – the triathlon races and the open-water swim events.
Last year’s open water swim test event was cancelled due to poor water quality. The elite men and women swam for the Paris Test Event, but two days later, the Para triathlon test event, and then the mixed relay saw the swim was cancelled as athletes raced a duathlon.
At the same time that World Triathlon released the latest test data, organizers also announced the options for the triathlon and open water swim races if the water quality wasn’t good enough. The first option would be to postpone the races. If conditions remained untenable, the open water swim event could be moved to Vaires-sur-Marne Nautical Stadium, where the rowing and canoeing competitions are to take place. The triathlon would be switched to a duathlon.
Promises
Oudéa-Castéra isn’t the only politician who has promised to swim in the Seine before the Games. Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo has said she will swim in the Seine to prove it is clean, as did French President Emmanuel Macron.
Whether those swims take place could provide a decent picture of whether or not we’ll see athletes do a triathlon or duathlon at the Paris Games later this month.