- The five swimming events in the Seine have been held at the Games after the clean-up
- Team GB star Hector Pardoe said it was “unbelievable” that all the races went ahead
- Meanwhile, Toby Robinson called for swimming in the Thames.
Britain’s open water swimmers have urged the UK government to follow France’s lead and clean up its polluted waterways after competing safely in the Seine on Friday.
French authorities have spent £1.2bn on a major clean-up operation in the river in Paris, where swimming has been banned for more than 100 years.
Although the men’s triathlon was delayed by a day last week due to poor water quality, all five events involving swimming in the Seine (the three triathlons and two 10km open water races) have gone ahead.
And Hector Pardoe and Toby Robinson hope Britain can learn lessons from France amid the country’s sewage scandal, which has been branded a “national disgrace” by Liberal Democrat environment spokesman Tim Farron.
“This will be the legacy of Paris 2024,” said world bronze medallist Pardoe, who finished sixth on Friday. “It’s incredible that they were able to sweep the board and that all the races were contested.”
Open water swimming in Britain has prompted the UK government to clean up the country’s polluted waters.
The French government carried out a £1.2 billion clean-up of the River Seine ahead of the Olympics
The five races on the Seine (three triathlons and two open water swims) took place as planned.
“This sets a very good precedent for the rest of Europe to clean up its rivers. Hopefully we can follow suit in the UK, because we still have a long way to go to even come close to what France has done here.”
Robinson, who came 14th, added: “Paris has made a huge effort to clean up these waters, why can’t we do the same in Britain? Imagine if we could get swimmers swimming in the Thames, it would be an amazing experience.”
‘The world should watch Paris clean up the Seine and take action on its own waterways.’
Pardoe is in a relationship with Frenchwoman Cassandre Beaugrand, who won the women’s triathlon in Paris last week. He says his partner has not fallen ill since swimming in the Seine and neither have the triathletes on the British team, despite fears of contracting E. coli from bacteria in the water.
“I’ll take some antibiotics as a precaution and wash my hands, but the water quality seemed fine to me,” Pardoe added. “You can’t taste the E. coli, I’m not an expert on that. I don’t think it was any different to any lake I’ve swum in in the UK.
Open water swimming star Toby Robinson, who finished 14th, called for a clean-up of the Thames in London.
‘There was a lot of negativity about the Seine before the Olympics, but they’ve spent £1.2bn on this clean-up project, so congratulations on doing it.
“It was an incredible experience to race on such an iconic circuit. My partner is French so we will be coming to Paris quite often for the rest of my life. Every time I pass by here I will remember this race.”