Paris mayor swims in Seine to show how clean the water is ahead of 2024 Olympics

LONDON -- Anne Hidalgo, the politician of Paris, has swam successful the Seine connected Wednesday greeting successful a showcase of however cleanable the stream is for the outdoor swimming events astatine the 2024 Paris Olympics which opens successful conscionable 9 days.

The Seine's h2o quality, however, remains questionable and has repeatedly failed tests successful beforehand of the 33rd Olympiad.

"On the eve of the Games, erstwhile the Seine volition play a cardinal role, this lawsuit represents the objection of the efforts made by the metropolis and the authorities to amended the prime of the Seine's waters and the ecological authorities of the river," Hidalgo's bureau said successful a connection connected Tuesday.

The Paris politician entered the Seine astatine astir 10 a.m. section time.

The 65-year-old mayor's aquatics was reportedly postponed from past period erstwhile stream samples were deemed to beryllium excessively unhealthy for her to aquatics in.

She was accompanied by Tony Estanguet, a erstwhile Olympic canoeing champion who successfully led Paris's bid for the 2024 Summer Olympics and is serving arsenic the caput of the organizing committee, arsenic good arsenic the apical information authoritative for the greater Paris region, Marc Guillaume.

President Emmanuel Macron, who had promised to articulation them successful a amusement of unity, was not determination for the aquatics connected Wednesday morning.

During dense rains, sewage tin overflow into the river. For example, connected June 18, aft respective days of rain, E. coli levels successful the Seine River jumped to astir 10,000 Colony Forming Units per milliliter, much than 10 times the information limit.

According to findings published by Paris City Hall earlier this month, the past week of June saw 4 days erstwhile the h2o was cleanable capable to aquatics in, according to European standards, but nary days erstwhile it was cleanable capable to aquatics successful according to U.S. standards.

Paris Olympics officials initially insisted determination would beryllium "no program B," but organizers revealed their contingency plans connected July 5, saying that open-water swimming mightiness instrumentality spot successful the Marne River instead. In addition, officials said they could hold the triathlon lawsuit or, successful the worst-case scenario, destruct the swimming information of the contention altogether.

The Seine is acceptable to beryllium utilized for the swimming limb of the Olympics triathlon connected July 30, 31 and August 5, arsenic good arsenic the open-water swimming connected August 8 and 9.

ABC News' Joe Simonetti contributed to this report.