Two years after the Paris Olympics placed the Seine at the center of one of the most ambitious sporting infrastructure projects in recent history, questions over the river’s water quality have resurfaced ahead of the 2026 European Aquatics Championships. This time, the concerns are being led by one of the sport’s most accomplished athletes, Italian Olympic champion Gregorio Paltrinieri, who says elite open water swimmers repeatedly asked organizers to relocate the competition to a safer venue.
Open water events are scheduled to take place from Aug. 4-8 near the Île aux Cygnes, a different stretch of the Seine from the one used during the Paris 2024 Olympic Games. While organizers have emphasized that the course has changed, many athletes remain unconvinced, arguing that the river itself remains the central concern rather than the specific location.
Speaking to Italy’s Corriere della Sera, Paltrinieri said swimmers had spent months lobbying European Aquatics to abandon the Seine altogether in favor of an alternative venue, warning that competing in potentially unsafe water could affect not only the open water races but also athletes who are scheduled to compete later in the pool.
“We asked for the open water races to be moved to another location because we do not trust the river,” Paltrinieri said. “Open water comes before the pool events at these European Championships. If you become ill in the Seine, you might also miss your races in the pool. It is risky.”
The issue carries particular significance because several athletes, including Paltrinieri, are expected to compete across both disciplines during the championships. Any illness contracted during the nearly two-hour open water races could jeopardize medal prospects in subsequent pool events.
The Seine was one of the signature elements of the Paris Olympic legacy project. French authorities invested approximately €1.4 billion to improve the river’s water quality, modernize sewage infrastructure and make the waterway suitable for international competition as well as public recreation.
Despite the unprecedented investment, the lead-up to the Olympic competitions was repeatedly disrupted by unfavorable water-quality readings. Several triathlon familiarization sessions were canceled, the men’s triathlon was postponed by a day and one scheduled open water training session was scrapped after bacteria levels exceeded limits established by World Aquatics.
Olympic organizers ultimately proceeded with both the men’s and women’s 10-kilometer races after test results met the governing body’s required standards on competition days.
Paltrinieri competed extensively during those Games, winning silver in the men’s 1,500-meter freestyle and bronze in the 800 freestyle before finishing ninth in the Olympic 10-kilometer open water race.
His memories of the Seine, however, remain overwhelmingly negative.
“At the Olympics, there were 30 of us in the 10km, and at least 10 ended up in the hospital afterward,” Paltrinieri said. “I was coming off great races in the pool, where I had won silver in the 1,500 and bronze in the 800, but everything about the Seine was absurd.”
While the Italian swimmer’s estimate has not been independently verified, reports following the Paris Olympics documented health concerns among several competitors. Germany’s Olympic Sports Confederation confirmed that three German open water swimmers experienced symptoms including nausea, vomiting and diarrhea after competing, although organizers said no direct link between those illnesses and the Seine had been established.
Those assurances have done little to ease concerns among athletes preparing to return to the river this week.
Although the 2026 championship course has been relocated near the Île aux Cygnes rather than the Pont Alexandre III area used during the Olympics, Paltrinieri argued that changing sections of the same river does not fundamentally resolve the underlying issue.
“It is still the Seine,” he said. “We have seen Parisians get into the water, but they stay there for a few minutes to cool down, perhaps without even putting their heads under. We have to swim in it for an hour and 50 minutes while swallowing foul water.”
According to Paltrinieri, athletes proposed moving the competition to a nearby lake that has previously hosted the French national championships, believing it would offer a safer environment without requiring major logistical changes.
Instead, organizers developed a contingency plan that still relies on another section of the Seine should problems arise with the primary course.
“There is a Plan B, but it is in another part of the Seine, which is a contradiction,” Paltrinieri said.
The Italian veteran said swimmers formally expressed their concerns to European Aquatics through two letters sent during 2026. The correspondence, he said, was signed by many of the sport’s leading competitors, including Olympic and world champions Florian Wellbrock and Kristóf Rasovszky.
“We have fought hard with European Aquatics this year,” Paltrinieri said. “We sent two letters signed by the strongest athletes, from Wellbrock to Rasovszky. The first was sent in January, and the second a few weeks ago.”
European Aquatics has responded by introducing several measures intended to reassure competitors. Following discussions with Rasovszky, who serves on the organization’s Athletes’ Committee, the governing body announced that athletes would be allowed to commission independent water-quality testing, with the governing body covering the costs.
European Aquatics also pledged to establish a task force to review health and safety regulations for future competitions. In addition, officials said athletes would be reimbursed for reasonable medical expenses if qualified medical experts determined that illness resulted directly from participating in official competition or training in the Seine.
For Paltrinieri, however, those measures fail to answer the fundamental question of why athletes are still expected to compete in a venue they have repeatedly challenged.
“They told us that, for our protection, we would have the opportunity to conduct independent water tests,” he said. “And listen to this: medical expenses will be reimbursed if someone contracts an illness.”
The debate surrounding the Seine reflects broader concerns facing international open water swimming. Similar issues have emerged repeatedly in recent years as organizers attempt to stage races in natural environments increasingly affected by pollution, climate change and extreme weather.
The 2023 Open Water World Cup event in Paris was canceled after the Seine failed to meet minimum health standards. During the 2025 World Championships in Singapore, the men’s 10-kilometer race was postponed because of poor water quality, while athletes also competed in water temperatures approaching 31 degrees Celsius. More recently, swimmers reported illnesses following the World Cup stop in Setúbal in June 2026.
Paltrinieri believes the recurring controversies highlight the limited influence athletes continue to have over decisions that directly affect their health and safety.
“Unfortunately, in our sport, athletes still count for too little,” he said. “That is what disappoints me most. I do not like complaining and I would never normally want to create trouble, but sometimes it is the only way to be heard.”
Although he does not serve on the Athletes’ Committee, Paltrinieri remains one of the sport’s most respected figures after more than a decade at the highest level in both pool and open water competition.
“I am not even the athletes’ representative, but they always want me to give my opinion,” he said. “I sincerely hope everything goes well, but we are all genuinely afraid.”
Despite his criticism, Paltrinieri remains optimistic about the future of open water swimming. He believes participation continues to grow but argues that broadcasters have yet to fully capture the tactical complexity that defines races lasting nearly two hours.
Among his proposals is the introduction of tracking technology that would allow television audiences to follow athletes’ movements throughout a race, similar to the graphics used in Formula One or sailing broadcasts.
“There is no shortage of ideas,” he said. “Put a chip on the suit. It could become like Formula 1 or sailing, with a map of the course on the screen showing the athletes’ movements and allowing people to understand their tactical decisions. It would make a race lasting almost two hours much more interesting to watch.”
The 31-year-old has made open water his priority for the 2026 season and indicated there is about a 90% chance he will not compete in the pool events in Paris. Instead, he views the season as an important stage in preparing for the Los Angeles 2028 Olympic Games.
“It is a transition season with the Olympics in mind, so that I can understand what I might be able to do in Los Angeles,” he said. “I have experienced some new situations in training. I have raced very well on some occasions and badly on others, but you are always learning.”
Paltrinieri’s career has already secured a place among Italy’s greatest swimmers. Olympic champion in the 1,500 freestyle at Rio 2016, he later became the first Italian swimmer to win individual medals at three different Olympic Games after claiming silver in the 1,500 freestyle and bronze in the 800 freestyle at Paris 2024.
Yet he says the medals he earned in Tokyo carry even greater personal significance because they came shortly after recovering from mononucleosis.
“A month and a half before Tokyo, I was crying in the shower because I had mononucleosis,” he said. “I could not swim and had no strength, but I won silver and bronze. I enjoyed those two medals more than the Olympic gold.”
As he prepares to return to the Seine, Paltrinieri insists his motivation extends beyond medals. He hopes younger swimmers understand that resilience often matters more than perfection.
“You do not have to be perfect,” he said. “You can make a mistake in a race or during a career, but then you start again and learn your limits. I have never been afraid to compete. I am not afraid of winning, but I am not afraid of making mistakes either.”
Before thoughts turn toward Los Angeles in 2028, however, Paltrinieri faces a familiar challenge. The men’s 10-kilometer race is scheduled for Tuesday morning in the Seine, the same river that continues to divide athletes and organizers despite years of investment and repeated assurances over its safety.
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