As the new 2024 Paris Olympic Games start, the crowd’s emotions swell with excitement and pride for their native country. Yet, there is another side of the Paris Olympics Games that weighs heavily in the crowd’s mind.
The controversies of the Paris Olympic games.
One of the Most concerning controversies during the Paris Olympic Games was the water quality of the Seine River. It had been illegal to swim in the Seine River for decades. This is due to the heavy pollution of the river, the river has been heavily polluted with prolonged rain. Over time, those pipes reached full capacity which allowed untreated water flows into the river instead of getting treated. Before the Paris Olympic game, the city had already spent $1.5 billion (€1.4 billion) on cleaning the Seine River. But weeks before the Olympic Games, according to official testing data by the City of Paris shows, the water quality of the Seine river is still not safe for the athletes to swim due to high levels of E.coli. On August 5th, Vasco Vilança and Melanie Santos had both developed gastrointestinal infections (an infection that involves both the stomach and the intestines) after swimming in the Seine River. Along with both Vasco and Melanie, Claire Michel became sick and was forced to withdraw from the competition.
However, this isn’t the only draw from the Olympic Games… Another controversy that happened during the Olympic Games was a disqualification of a breaking athlete, Talash. Talash, also known as b-girl, was disqualified due to a cape worn during the competition, which was written “Free Afghan Woman”. Due to Rule 50 in the Olympic Charter, the disqualification wasn’t focused on the Athlete, but on the cape. Some said that the Olympic Charter should stop using this rule to restrict athletes for advocating social justice and human rights causes.
This year’s controversies reminded us that the Olympic Games isn’t only a celebration about the excellence of the Athletics, but also reflections of social values. Those controversies that happened at the 2024 Paris Olympics will surely make an impact on the crowd and reflect the value of the Olympics.
Sources
https://apnews.com/article/olympics-2024-seine-water-quality-bacteria-f04236aa61b936912f9af65f7e3fa9ba#:~:text=Paris%2C%20like%20many%20old%20cities,of%20to%20a%20treatment%20plant.
https://www.sportingnews.com/us/olympics/news/seine-dirty-paris-river-swimming-ban/153c2fa50323edac0ed59cb2#:~:text=The%20Seine%20River%20isn't,those%20pipes%20reach%20full%20capacity.
https://www.theguardian.com/world/article/2024/jul/31/wednesday-briefing-first-edition-paris-olympics-river-seine#:~:text=Officials%20have%20been%20discussing%20cleaning,in%20time%20for%20the%20Olympics.
https://www.dw.com/en/paris-olympics-why-is-the-seine-unsafe-for-swimmers/a-69809143#:~:text=Pollution%20in%20the%20Seine%20is,games%20competing%20in%20swimming%20pools.
https://www.euronews.com/2024/08/07/paris-olympics-two-portuguese-triathlon-athletes-fall-ill-after-swimming-in-the-seine-rive#:~:text=Vasco%20Vila%C3%A7a%20and%20Melanie%20Santos,Portuguese%20Olympic%20Committee%20(COP).
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