Paris mayor takes pre-Olympics dip to prove Seine clean

Paris: The mayor of Paris, Anne Hidalgo, swam in the murky waters of the Seine on Wednesday to demonstrate the river is now clean enough for outdoor O...

Paris: The mayor of Paris, Anne Hidalgo, swam in the murky waters of the Seine on Wednesday to demonstrate the river is now clean enough for outdoor Olympic swimming events.

Wearing goggles and a wet suit, the 65-year-old city leader swam breaststroke before immersing her face and beginning a front crawl, covering around 100 metres (yards) up and downstream.

She was joined by senior local officials and by Tony Estanguet, a triple Olympic gold medallist in canoeing who heads the organising committee for the Paris Games, which open next week on July 26.

"Today is a confirmation that we are exactly where we meant to be, " Estanguet said. "We are now ready to organise the games in the Seine."

Despite an investment of 1.4 billion euros ($1.5 billion) to prevent sewage leaks into the waterway, the state of the Seine has brought suspense to the build-up to the Paris Games.