DPA
Paris
Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo took a dip in the River Seine on Wednesday to emphasize that the water is safe to swim in for athletes at the Olympics which start in just over a week’s time.
Wearing a wetsuit and goggles, Hidalgo swam under sunny skies near City Hall together with others including Olympic organizing committee chief Tony Estanguet and Marc Guillaume, top government official of the Greater Paris region Ile de France.
Hidalgo said the river was "exquisite” and added later on Instagram: "Swimming in the Seine. Some dreamt of it, some didn’t think it would happen, and we, well, we did it! "
After a 100-year ban, athletes will take the plunge in just a few days during the Games! Swimming in the Seine will be open to the public as of next summer,” she pledged.
Hidalgo had originally planned her dip in June but the snap election and still unsafe water conditions in connection with heavy rainfall and cool temperatures prevented it.
The water has only been deemed safe to swim in lately from daily pollution tests, and Sports Minister Amélie Oudéa-Castéra was the first to take the plunge last week.
Paris organizers have long planned to hold the open water swimming competitions and the swim portion of the triathlon events in the Seine, investing around €1.4 billion ($1.5 billion) over the past years to make the Seine cleaner.
However, some like German swim coach Bernd Berkhahn are still concerned about the water flow speed, given that open water swimmers face a loop course that takes them upstream and downstream.
The river will also play a major part in next week Friday’s opening ceremony where the parade of nations will take place on boats.