One of the most memorable stories to come out of watching the 2024 Olympics had to do with the Seine River. The major – and majorly dirty – body of water was used for some of the longer events despite public safety concerns. Recently, champion swimmer Katie Grimes opened up about what it was really like to swim in the river, and it’s giving me flashbacks to some of the other wild comments made by Olympians.
What Katie Grimes Had To Say About Swimming In The Seine
Grimes actually became the first American woman to do both open water Seine and pool swims during her stay in the Paris Olympics Village, so when TMZ caught up with the medalist, they had to ask her what that was like. I was surprised to hear that it wasn’t as bad as she expected it to be, though some of her concerns channel what we’ve heard from other swimmers prior.
The river was definitely a challenge. I’ve never had to swim with a current like that before. But it was such a historic race, and something I’ll never forget. And yeah, I hope I don’t have to ever go in the river again. I was a little nervous before I got in, hoping that I wouldn’t get sick. But I honestly didn’t think about it once while I was racing and I didn’t get sick afterwards, so I’m really grateful for that.
To note, Grimes was actually involved in several Olympic events, and medaled in the 400-medley. Her event in the Seine wasn’t her finest race during the games, landing her in 15th place. Though here she also pointed out she’d never swum in a current prior to the 2024 Paris Games. Regardless, the race certainly sounds like it was among the more memorable things she did.
The Seine Comment That Is Still Sticking With Me After The Games
While this interview with Grimes was fairly tactful, and I’m grateful to hear she didn’t get sick, there were reports of people throwing up after swimming in the Seine. (Though allegedly not because of water safety.) The most memorable take for me, though, happened when Olympic triathlete Jolien Vermeylen of Belgium spoke out to Metro about swimming under a bridge during her race.
While swimming under the bridge, I felt and saw things that we shouldn’t think about too much. The Seine has been dirty for a hundred years, so they can’t say that the safety of the athletes is a priority. That’s bullshit!
Yup, that’s one description that has haunted my nightmares over the last few weeks. Paris tried to show the water was clean despite overflow concerns – when it rains the city’s old sewage often seeps into the river, and the Mayor even swam in the Seine several days before the event to demonstrate safety. Still, it’s clear water safety was on everyone’s mind, as some talked about trying not to get water into their mouths while swimming and more.
Ultimately, eight Olympians fell ill after swimming in their event, with another Belgian athlete Claire Michel ending up with an e. coli infection. Ireland’s Daniel Wiffen ended up with a gastrointestinal infection. The Paris Olympics committee said in a release it was, “not aware of any established link” between the sick athletes and their race in the Seine.
Plenty of other people got sick in various ways at the Olympics -- Noah Lyles notable ran with Covid and poor Colin Jost had to be evacuated from Tahiti -- but it's these quotes about the water that are still sticking with me days and days later. And that's not even getting into claims from the Olympics Village about worms in food and such.
As Vermeylen noted, best to not think of it too much.
