Ahead of the 2026 European Championships in Paris, European Aquatics President António Silva and Sports Director Apostolos Tsagkarakis met with Athletes’ Committee member and Hungarian 10km Olympic Open Water Champion Kristóf Rasovszky (who won gold in Paris) to discuss the water quality in the Seine River and the measures in place for the health and safety of the Open Water and High Diving events.
The Seine River, which hosted the open water events in 2024 for the Olympic Games in Paris, was the center of many water quality issues leading up to the games. In early June of 2024, less than two months out from the start of the Olympics, water quality tests showed levels of E. Coli and enterococci bacteria, including a reading that showed the levels of E. Coli were more than three times higher than the maximum level authorized by open-water swimming and triathlon federations.
Later in the same month, the river failed another water test that showed that the E. Coli levels were ten times above the acceptable limit after major rainfall that sent untreated sewage into the river.
A month later, the river had shown improvements, with tests showing lower levels of E. Coli and enterococci bacteria on six of nine days of testing, organizers of the Paris Olympics had discussed a potential backup plan if the river was not properly available.
In August of 2023, test events for the river ahead of the Paris Olympics were canceled due to the poor water quality. The event, which was a World Aquatics Open Water Swimming World Cup, was canceled in part because of heavy rainfall.
In a recent statement from European Aquatics, it reads that European Aquatics “welcomed the feedback and proposals presented by the athletes’ representative,” and that the following actions had been agreed upon (per European Aquatics):
- Strictly follow the health & safety protocol, and contingency plans developed by the Local Organizing Committee in Paris, procedures which were presented to athletes, team leaders and coaches during recent online information sessions.
- The athletes have the option to choose an independent water quality analysis service provider, to verify all data provided by European Aquatics and Local Organising Committee are accurate. The associated costs for such service shall be covered by European Aquatics.
- To establish a dedicated taskforce to recommend amendments to existing or future health and safety regulations of the athletes.
- If an athlete suffers as a direct result of an illness, that is reasonably determined by qualified personnel to have been caused by the athlete’s participation in a swimming or high diving event in the River Seine during the competition or official training days of the 2026 European Aquatics Championships, European Aquatics will reimburse reasonable medical expenses incurred as a direct consequence. The value and nature of such reimbursement must be agreed with European Aquatics, who will act reasonably under guidance of qualified personnel, in advance of any treatment being commenced.
