Canadian says she wasn't thinking about Seine water quality during Olympic swim

PARIS — In the end, it was the strong current and not dirty water in the Seine that was the biggest concern for Emma Finlin at the Paris Olympics.

The Edmonton swimmer was one of 24 athletes who plunged into the historic river for the women's 10-kilometre marathon swim on Thursday, for the longest Olympic event to date in a waterway that has been beset by water quality concerns.

Despite fluctuating water test results that have caused some training sessions to be cancelled and a men's triathlon race to be postponed, the 19-year-old said she didn't find the water too different from the lakes she's used to.

"I wasn't really thinking about what was in (the water), to be honest," she said. "It was out of my control."

Finlin finished 23rd through the six-lap course that started and finished at the historic Paris Pont Alexandre III bridge. Though she trailed most of the field and battled the current, the 19-year-old fought on to finish in a time of two hours, 22 minutes and 6.5 seconds in a race that was won by Sharon van Rouwendaal of the Netherlands.

Van Rouwendaal finished the race in 2 hours three minutes and 34.2 seconds to become the event's first two-time winner, ahead of Australia’s Moesha Johnson in silver and Italy’s Ginevra Taddeucci in bronze.

And if the Canadian seemed unconcerned about the Seine water, Van Rouwendaal went one step further. The Dutch swimmer said she got thirsty and ended up having a drink of the river water on her final lap, proclaiming it "cold" and "nice."

"In other races you would taste fish or sea water," she said in a press conference. "This was fine."

When asked about whether she was afraid of getting sick, she said she had already vomited twice that morning from stress. "So if I vomit today it’s all fine."

A test run to allow the athletes to get used to the marathon swimming route was cancelled Tuesday over water quality, but went ahead a day later after testing showed the water was within acceptable guidelines for illness-causing bacteria. Concerns over the cleanliness in the Seine have made headlines throughout the Games, despite a years-long effort to clean up the historically polluted waterway in time for the Olympics.

Swimming in the Seine was banned for over 100 years, largely because of water quality.

The swimming portion of Olympic triathlon events were also held in the river, although some training sessions were cancelled and the men's triathlon was postponed by a day.

But the triathletes only had to swim 1.5 kilometres. The marathon swim takes place over 10, requiring the athletes to spend more than two hours in the water.

The athletes sent up splashes from the water Thursday morning, winding around the 1.67-kilometre course, with landmarks including the Eiffel Tower, Grand Palais and Invalides looming in the background. At times, the swimmers grabbed bottles of liquid that were extended on long poles from their coaches on the banks.

Finlin said the swimmers "flew down" the first half of the course, but had to battle strong currents and blinding sun coming back.

"I underestimated the current, for sure," Finlin said. "So that was a bit difficult, but I couldn't control that. So I just tried to keep myself calm coming back." Swimming Canada open water coach Mark Perry said Finlin's inexperience showed in the race when she made an early mistake and "got in the wrong bit of the current."

"Once you've lost touch with the pack in this sport, it's pretty much impossible to get back," he said. While Finlin has trained in lakes and most recently in the ocean in Majorca, Spain, Perry said there are few rivers that allow swimming in the strong parts of the current, making the Paris course hard to train for.

Perry, like his swimmer, said he hadn't been too worried with the Seine water quality, saying he trusted governing body World Aquatics to make the right decision based on frequent testing.

However, he added a moment later that he and Finlin, with advice from team doctors, chose not to have her train in the Seine. "We decided we'd rather not get sick or the potential of getting sick," he said.

Instead, they walked the course and watched others swim it, he said.

Hungarian swimmer Bettina Fabian, who finished fifth, she had her own unique strategy for tackling any lingering bacteria.

"I brought Hungarian Pálinka (a strong alcohol) so I’m going to drink that and see if I’m going to be OK," she said.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 8, 2024.

— With files from The Associated Press

Morgan Lowrie, The Canadian Press