What Would You Do: Protest or Compete in the Seine at the Paris Olympics?

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One of the issues that is more frequently a topic in the media is a discussion of the water quality of the Seine River when the Olympic 10K Marathon Swim and the Olympic Triathlon competitions will be held.

110 athletes will compete in the triathlon races at the 2024 Paris Olympics. The races will be held on July 30th (men’s individual), July 31st (women’s individual), and August 5th (mixed relay) at Pont Alexandre III where the 1.5 km swim legs are in the Seine River (shown above).

44 swimmers will compete in the 10 km marathon swim at the 2024 Paris Olympics. The races will be held on August 8th (women’s individual) and August 9th (men’s individual), also at Pont Alexandre III where the course will be 4 loops around a 10 km rectangular course in the Seine.

The Pont Alexandre III is a deck arch bridge that spans the Seine in the middle of Paris. It connects the Champs-Élysées quarter with those of the Invalides and Eiffel Tower. The bridge is widely regarded as the most ornate, extravagant bridge in Paris and has been classified as a French monument historique since 1975.

The media has long and repeatedly focused on the poor water quality of the Seine and called for either improvement in the waste management system in Paris and a Plan B.

Le Monde newspaper reported that an open water swimming test event scheduled for last weekend was cancelled after a heavy rain that caused the pollution levels to exceed the local limits. The cost of upgrading the water treatment facilities is high and may – or may not – be achieved by the start of the Paris Olympic Games.

Past Concerns

Throughout the history of the modern Olympic Games, the open swimming events have been held in the various bodies of water:

1896 Athens Olympics: Bay of Zea off the Piraeus coast in the Aegean Sea of Greece
1900 Paris Olympics: River Seine in Paris, France
1904 St. Louis Olympics: Man-made pond near Skinker and Wydown Boulevards in St. Louis, Missouri, U.S.A.
1906 Athens Intercalated Games: Neo Phaliron Bay off the coast of Athens, Greece
2008 Beijing Olympics: Shunyi Olympic Rowing-Canoeing Park, outside Beijing, China
2012 London Olympics: Serpentine in London, England
2016 Rio Olympics: Copacabana Beach in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
2020 Tokyo Olympics: Odaiba Marine Park in Tokyo Bay, Japan
2024 Paris Olympics: River Seine in Paris, France
2028 Los Angeles Olympic Games: Coast off of Long Beach, California

Each one has come with its own particular set of issues.

But the immediate issue for the upcoming Paris Olympics is what are the triathletes and marathon swimmers going to do?

Reportedly, the triathlon can become a biathlon (bike + run) and bypass the entire swim leg, thereby avoiding the problem of swimming in polluted water altogether. It was mentioned that Plan B for the marathon swim is switching the scheduled days of the races to later days in the Olympic schedule. Since the women’s race is held on August 9th and the men’s race is August 10th, and the last day of the Paris Olympics is August 11th, that Plan B is tight – very tight.

What Could Happen in Paris?

Possibility #1: Swimmers participate as planned – realizing their long-held Olympic dreams of representing their countries and standing on the Olympic medal podium.

In previous Olympics, the media, fans, coaches, administrators, and commentators have pointed out or complained about the water quality in the marathon swim venues, especially in Rio de Janeiro and Tokyo. However, no athletes complained, got sick, or were hospitalized, and the events went off as planned.

Possibility #2: Some swimmers, in consultation with their coaches and approval by their country’s administrators. may choose to protest and not participate in the marathon swim. While they may enjoy the Olympic experience of living in the Olympic Village and participating in the Opening and Closing Ceremonies with their teammates and other athletes from around the world, they could theoretically decide to not participate with the support of their coaches and national governing bodies.

There have been some international events where some swimmers, in consultation with their coaches and approval of their country’s administrators, have protested and chosen not to participate. The most well-known case was at the 2011 FINA World Championships in Shanghai in the 25 km race – that were held as scheduled and some athletes were rescued and hospitalized as a result – but medals were ultimately awarded to the top 3 finishers.

Possibility #3: A swimmer’s national governing body unilaterally decides that the swimmer cannot compete in the Olympic 10K Marathon Swim because the water quality of the Seine is too low on race day.

Possibility #4: The entire event – both or either the men’s and women’s races – are cancelled and no one has the opportunity to participate.

This has occurred in the Seine as last year’s scheduled Olympic test event.

What Would You Do?

After several years – and sometimes decades – of dedication and sacrifice, money and time spent on training and travel, dreams developed and realized, would you choose to protest and sit out of a well-deserved Olympic participation?

Would you protest, knowing that other competitors would choose to participate?

Would you protest, even knowing (or assuming) that you would get sick as a result of swimming in the Seine with elevated e.coli levels?

While protesting and sitting out of the race may seem to be the easy choice, it can be a difficult decision for athletes who have endured and spent so much time, effort, and money preparing for 2 hours of Olympic glory – even if they do not medal.

If you had the opportunity to protest or swim, what would you do?