Paris 2024 Olympic Games: “We can get sick two weeks later”, the Olympic champion’s concerns about the “swimability” of the Seine

L'inquiétude se fait sentir chez Ana Marcela Cunha au sujet de la propreté de la Seine. EPA – FRANCK ROBICHON

The Brazilian Cunha calls for a "plan B". The organizers are no longer sure of anything.   

Brazilian Ana Marcela Cunha, reigning Olympic open water swimming champion, called on the organizers of the 2024 Olympics to develop a "plan B" in case the tests cannot take place in the Seine, due to poor water quality.

"This is a concern. There was no test event last year because of that, but (the organizers)insist on wanting the tests to take place there (…). We need a plan B in case it is not possible to swim" in the Seine, declared the 31-year-old swimmer on the sidelines of a competition on the beach of Copacabana, in Rio de Janeiro.

The health of athletes must come first

"It's not about erasing the history of the Seine, we know what the bridge represents Alexandre-III, the Eiffel Tower, but I think that the health of the athletes must come before", argues the champion, according to whom "the organizers must accept that, perhaps, it will unfortunately be impossible to carry out the tests where they want".

Water quality gives organizers a cold sweat

Less than five months before the opening ceremony of the Paris Games (July 26 – August 11), the water quality of the Seine, the emblematic river which crosses the French capital, continues to give cold sweats for the organizers.

The Seine must also host the triathlon events, and its swimmability, as well as that of its tributary the Marne, is supposed to be one of the great legacies of the Olympic and Paralympic Games. The analyzes carried out from 2015 to 2023, transmitted by the Paris town hall, show strong variations last summer, with several peaks in the concentration of two bacteria indicative of fecal contamination.

None of the 14 Parisian water sampling points has reached a sufficient level of quality with regard to European directives in 2023, generally from June to September. Asked about her state of mind at the idea of ​​having to compete with a doubt about the quality of the water, Ana Marcela Cunha evokes "a before and after".

"On the day of the competition, there isn't much to do (…). But, afterwards, once you get out of the water, you can get sick two weeks later. At the time of the competition, we don't think about it, we worry after", says the Brazilian champion, urging broader awareness environmental.

Environmental awareness

"Everything is linked to the way we treat nature" and "everyone must play their role", says the young thirty-year-old, citing the plastic pollution of the seas, even if, to return to the Paris Games, it is also "linked to a problem of ;infrastructure: the Seine is not made for swimming", according to her.

I'm going to be the one to beat, but I'm staying calm about it

Despite this uncertainty, Ana Marcela Cunha says she remains focused on her goal: retaining her title, for her fourth participation in the Olympics. A hell of a challenge for the seven-time world champion, who should have tough opponents like the German Leonie Beck or the Dutch Sharon van Rouwendaal, gold medalist at the Rio 2016 Games.

Win, "I know this is what everyone is waiting for. I know how to handle pressure and expectations", retorts the Brazilian swimmer. "I had to go through many ordeals, I had to have surgery (on my shoulder, in November 2022), and my opponents respect me. I'm going to be the person to beat, but I remain calm about it", she continues. Will it be, whatever happens, her last Olympics ? "As long as I am happy and continue to progress, I don't want to set a date, to avoid doing a countdown", assures the swimmer.