Clean water; Strong currents? The athletes seem to be faced with many problems, just days before the freestyle swimming event on the Seine. A swimming race on the picturesque Seine with a view of the Eiffel Tower – doesn’t it sound ideal? And yet for many people from the field of sports it is nothing more than a nightmare. “It’s hopeless that we as athletes and coaches have to prepare for something like this,” says the German swimming federation coach Berd Berkchan a few days before the Olympics in Paris. The biggest obstacle right now: the river currents are still very strong.

“The problem is not swimming with the current – the problem is coming back,” Florian Wellbrock, Tokyo 2021 Olympian, explains to DW. “Under the present conditions it is impossible to hold races on the Seine.”

Against the current

The course for the marathon swim is one kilometer long and spans the Pont Alexandre III bridge. to the Pont de Alma bridge. Since the course of the race is a total of 10 kilometers, 5 of them will be done against the current.

The speed of the river’s current is estimated at 1.2 meters per second – when swimmers are moving (without opposing currents) at an average speed of 1.6 meters per second. In other words, if the current moves at the same speed, the athletes will swim at an average speed of only 40 centimeters per second.

Improved water quality

The poor quality of the water of the Seine was also a big problem for a long time. But now things look better. Two weeks before the start of the games a city representative reported that “eleven or ten” out of the last twelve days the Seine has been clear enough to hold the swimming competitions.

Wanting to dispel any doubt about the quality of the water, France’s Sports Minister Amelie Oudteau-Castera took a dip in the Seine herself, with Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo following suit.

French authorities have invested a total of 1.4 billion euros ahead of the Olympics in new plants to treat sewage and improve the sewage system. In case the water is not in good condition on the days of the races, the latter could be postponed for some twenty-four hours.

What alternatives are there?

According to Berkhan, the organizers had initially made it clear that there was no alternative location for the games. But finally it seems that there is: the rowing track in Vair-sur-Marne, about 20 kilometers outside of Paris. “Our communication was like a broken phone,” says swimming star Wellbrock, however, expressing his satisfaction that there is now an alternative solution and that in any case the race will be held as normal.

But as Berkhan points out, a race on the Seine has nothing to do with a race on the rowing track. Almost everything is different, from wind strength to water temperature. “It’s unbelievable that the athletes still don’t know exactly what will happen and how they can mentally prepare for the race,” he emphasizes.

Oliver Klemt, another swimmer on the German national team, would prefer to swim the rowing route. “If we change the venue, things will be simpler,” the 22-year-old told DW. “Swimming in a river is much more difficult than in the sea” – that is, where long-distance swimming races usually take place.

Athletes train with special equipment

Olympian Velbrock, however, is not too concerned about where the match will take place. But he is sure of the following: “This will be the most difficult 10km race in history. That’s why proper preparation is very important.”

This is also the reason why Berkhan adapts the training to the special conditions: “In training we focus more on strength and endurance. That’s why we put more emphasis on swimming with the hands.”

In order to represent the resistance of the counter current, during training the athletes wear special equipment along with their swimwear, which reduces the ability to slip or even special parachutes.

Whether such a different preparation was really necessary in training will be seen in the coming weeks. Because if the rains stop, the Seine will flow more slowly. So maybe the weather god will have the last word after all.

Edited by: Giorgos Passas