Paris is currently staging its inaugural high-diving competition in the Seine, with athletes diving from a 20-metre platform near the Eiffel Tower. This event, part of the European Aquatics Championships, is a significant test of the city's efforts to make the river suitable for sport.
Training for the high-diving event was suspended on Thursday after traces of hydrocarbons were detected upstream. However, by Friday, the French Swimming Federation confirmed that the affected area had been treated, enabling athletes to return to the water and the competition to continue as planned. The high-diving finals and medal events are scheduled for Saturday.
The broader European Aquatics Championships, which mark the centenary of the inaugural championships in Budapest in 1926, will continue until 16 August. More than 1,000 athletes are competing across five disciplines, with the Seine hosting both open-water swimming and high diving.
Public swimming in the Seine was banned in 1923 and only returned in 2025, following substantial investments to improve water quality. Maxime Sauvage, Paris deputy mayor for sports, acknowledged that while efforts have been made to control factors like sewage and stormwater, outdoor events inherently carry some uncertainties.