Paris Olympics: Swimmers return to the Seine for the first time in a century

PARIS — After six years, $1.5 billion, innumerable tests, cascades of protests, political grandstanding, countless prayers and hopes, multiple delays, and a thunderstorm just hours before the start … swimmers are finally in the Seine once again.

The competitors in the women’s triathlon at the 2024 Olympics went into the water at 8:00 a.m., the first time an Olympic event has been held in the Seine in 124 years. It’s also one of the first times that any swimmers at all have legally entered the picturesque but (formerly) filthy river in a century.

When the race was done, nearly two hours later, France’s Cassandre Beugrand had captured the gold with a time of 1:54:55, with Switzerland’s Julie Derron (1:55:01) taking the silver and Great Britain’s Beth Potter (1:55:10) claiming bronze. Taylor Spivey (1:57:11) was the first United States triathlete to finish, coming in 10th.

The triathlon’s completion brought an end, at last, to all the questions and concerns about the water’s viability. The athletes, in particular, appeared weary of talking about the topic.

“I thought, honestly, that the current was more of a concern to me today,” Spivey said. “It was insane. There was one point where I thought they were going to have to pull us all out.” She compared the current to being on a treadmill, and said she was dunked while circling the buoy in the Seine.

“It was wild out there,” said Spivey’s teammate Taylor Knibb, who finished 19th with a time of 1:58:37. “Women are aggressive. They are incognito out there, so you can do whatever you want.”

The race’s start — and indeed the entire swimming portion of the triathlon itself — was in doubt right up until a few hours before the event began. While Paris’ massive cleanup effort brought the Seine up to acceptably healthy levels for swimming on several occasions, heavy rainfall during the Opening Ceremony and the first day of the Olympics erased many of the cleanup gains.

Scheduled practices for the 1,500-meter swim earlier this week were canceled as a result of the rainfall, which raised contamination levels in the river. The men’s event was postponed from Tuesday to Wednesday following early morning tests that found the river still contained unsafe levels of pathogens.

That left triathletes in limbo as to teh status of their races, trying to keep a sense of both focus and calm. “I think we’ve learned in life that anything can get canceled after 2020,” Knibb said. “You prepare as if it’s going to go off, and then if it gets canceled you recalibrate.”

Organizers hoped that heat and sunshine — both of which arrived in copious amounts on Tuesday — would be sufficient to render the river safe for swimming. Officials from the city of Paris, the Paris Olympic organizing committee, and World Triathlon all conferred and concurred on the decision to race Wednesday.

Bermuda’s Flora Duffy was first out of the water, followed by Italy’s Bianca Serigni and Brazil’s Vittoria Lopes. Kirsten Kasper was the first United States triathlete to reach dry land, starting the bike portion of the race in ninth.

The slick Paris roads following overnight rain claimed more than a few riders, but the majority of the pack remained intact and in hot pursuit of the leaders. In the end, 51 of 55 triathletes finished the entire women’s race.

Swimmers took varying approaches to preparation, with some opting for preventative medication and others saving antibiotics for when they might be needed.

“At the end of the day, I hope I wasn’t sick,” Spivey said. “I swallowed a ton of water being dunked at that first buoy, but that current, wow … that was intense.”

The key question: How did the Seine water taste? “Water tastes like water,” Spivey said. “That’s the last thing I was worried about.”

“I can grab you a cup,” Knibb said, “if you want to taste it.”