Despite
$1.53
billion
having
been
budgeted
to
clean
up
the
perennially
polluted
Seine,
reports
swirled
for
months
leading
up
to
the
Paris
Games
about
whether
it
would
be
safe
enough
to
hold
the
swimming
leg
of
the
triathlons
and
the
10,000-meter
marathons
in
the
river.
Paris
Mayor
Anne
Hidalgo
went
for
a
swim
July
17
and
declared
France’s
most
famous
body
of
water
good
to
go—but
it’s
been
kind
of
a
s–t
show
since
the
Olympics
began.
On
Monday,
July
29,
swims
for
the
triathletes
to
familiarize
themselves
with
the
Seine
were
canceled,
officials
citing
poor
water
quality
levels
caused
by
run-off
from
the
weekend’s
heavy
rains
(which
noticeably
started
during
the
July
26
Opening
Ceremony).
The
men’s
triathlon
was
then
postponed
a
day
and
rescheduled
to
follow
the
women’s
event
on
July
31
after
organizers
deemed
bacteria
levels
too
high
for
a
safe
swim.
Both
triathlons
were
held
July
31,
day-of
tests
finding
that
E.
coli
and
intestinal
enterococci
levels
were
low
enough
to
qualify
the
water
as “excellent
quality,”
per
the
European
Union’s
Bathing
Water
Directive.
But
speculation
that
the
water
wasn’t
safe
resumed
after
two
athletes
who
competed
in
the
triathlon
dropped
out
of
the
mixed-relay
competition,
citing
respective
illnesses
(neither
of
which
have
been
definitively
linked
to
swimming
in
the
Seine).
The
women’s
and
men’s
10,000
meters
are
still
scheduled
for
Aug.
8
and
9,
but
practices
were
canceled
Aug.
6
after
tests
showed
bacteria
levels
were
once
again
too
high.
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