The Paris Olympics $1.5 Billion Seine Cleanup Yields Mixed Results

The final open-water swimming competition of the Paris Olympics concluded Friday, bringing an end to a tumultuous, dramatic, and expensive saga.

The city of Paris spent $1.5 billion to clean up the Seine river, which ultimately hosted five events during the Games despite questions about water quality and its safety for swimming. But that exorbitant expense wasn’t enough to quell disruptions.

Pollution in the Seine, particularly E. coli levels, has fluctuated throughout the Olympics, in large part due to heavy rainfall before and during the Games. And while no competitions were canceled, several practice sessions were called off, and the men’s triathlon was delayed one day.

Mixed Results

Hungary’s Kristóf Rasovszky won the gold medal in the men’s 10-kilometer marathon swimming event that took place in the iconic river Friday after Dutch swimmer Sharon van Rouwendaal won the women’s event Thursday. Ahead of the men’s competition, Sweden’s Victor Johansson dropped out, claiming the Seine’s river quality had made him sick.

On Monday, Germany won gold in the triathlon mixed relay after Belgium pulled out of the competition because one of its team members got sick. At the time, it was believed Claire Michel fell ill from swimming in the Seine during the women’s triathlon, but it was later determined to be a virus.

Last week, Great Britain’s Alex Yee won the men’s triathlon, but only after the event was pushed back one day to July 31 because of poor water quality when the Seine was tested the day before. France’s Cassandre Beaugrand won the women’s triathlon, which went ahead as scheduled July 31.

Swimming in L.A.

In 2028, open-water swimming at the Los Angeles Olympics is set to take place at Long Beach. The venue will span 11 miles of waterways connected to more than 5 miles of sandy beaches.

The most recent budget projections for the entire Los Angeles Games have come in around $7 billion, compared to potentially $10 billion for the Paris Olympics, once the final numbers come in.