Seine River Fails Another Water Quality Test In Paris Lead-Up, U.S. Finalizes Olympic Roster

swin @) swan Seine Water Quality Issues Remain: With less than one month to go until the start of the Olympics, the status of the Seine River and its safety for swimmers remains subpar after missing the mark in another water quality test. Also: The U.S. finalizes its Olympic swimming roster, WADA and USADA spar in the aftermath of the U.S. Congressional hearing, and Cate Campbell announces her retirement. CONCERNS GROWING AS SEINE RIVER REMAINS UNSAFE After making a point of establishing it as a marquee site of multiple events at the Olympic Games, the Paris 2024 organizing committee is left scrambling as the Seine River continues to fail water quality tests. The Seine recently failed a water quality test for the third week in a row, as the scenic Paris waterway tested for unsafe levels of E. coli in four different areas. E. coli levels were 10 times above acceptable limits on June 18 after another month of heavy rainfall sent untreated sewage into the Seine River. With the nearby Yonne River also flooding, the current flow of the Seine is around four to five times higher than averages in years prior. * Read More: What You Need To Know About E. coli In The Seine River The 10km open water swimming events, along with the swim portion of the Olympic triathlon, are scheduled to take place in the Seine. Triathlon events will be on July 30, 31 and August 5, while the open water races will take place on August 8 and 9. Paris 2024 organizers insist that the Seine will be safe for competition with drier weather in the forecast for July. They still have not released a backup location to the public despite calls for a contingency plan from reigning 10km Olympic champion Ana Marcela Cunha. “By the second half of July, things should settle down,” Paris 2024 organizing committee chief Tony Estanguet said. Read more here. LEDECKY DROPS 200 FREE, JOHNSTON ADDS OPEN WATER ENTRY AS U.S. FINALIZES ROSTER USA Swimming announced its final Olympic pool swimming roster for the 2024 Paris Games on June 27, with the team set to begin their first pre-Olympic training camp on July 2 in Raleigh. As expected, Katie Ledecky officially dropped the women's 200 freestyle from her individual program in Paris, resulting in Erin Gemmell getting the nod to swim the race at the Games. Gemmell was 4th in the women's 200 free at the U.S. Olympic Trials, meaning that the 3rd-place finisher, Paige Madden, declined the spot in the race to focus on the 400 and 800 free. After initially only having one male, Ivan Puskovitch, competing in the 10km open water event, USA Swimming has added David Johnston to the open water team in Paris. Johnston was the runner-up in the men's 1500 free at the U.S. Olympic Trials, qualifying for his first Olympic team, and a small loophole in the Olympic qualification criteria for the open water race allowed him to gain entry into the 10km in Paris. Read more here. U.S. CONGRESSIONAL HEARING RESULTS IN BACK AND FORTH BETWEEN WADA, USADA The public sparring between the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) and the United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) continues after the U.S. Congressional hearing entitled "Examining Anti-Doping Measures in Advance of the 2024 Olympics" was hosted last Tuesday in Washington. The hearing was led by USADA CEO Travis Tygart and included American swimming legends Michael Phelps and Allison Schmitt speaking out on their concerns regarding WADA and specifically, its handling of the Chinese doping case that came to light earlier this year. WADA President Witold Banka, who was invited to attend the hearing but declined, responded to the hearing with a lengthy statement the following day, picking apart USADA while accusing it of hypocrisy and attempting to politicize anti-doping in the United States. Tygart clapped back with a response of his own, pushing back at WADA and questioning why it has "yet to answer for why they were complicit" in the Chinese case and "sacrificed the right of Chinese athletes and athletes worldwide." Read more on Banka and Tygart's statements here. AUSTRALIAN SPRINTING LEGEND CATE CAMPBELL RETIRES After falling shy in her bid for a fifth straight Olympic appearance, Australia's Cate Campbell has announced her retirement from competitive swimming. Campbell, 32, won eight Olympic medals over four appearances at the Games from 2008 to 2021, claiming four golds on the Australian relays and adding a pair of individual bronze medals in the women's 50 free in Beijing and the 100 free in Tokyo. "After over 20 years, over 35,00km, over 19,000,000 strokes, 4 Olympics, 8 Olympic medals, 7 World Records and countless memories it’s time to officially say goodbye to the dream I have had since I was 9 years old," Campbell said. "As of today, I am officially retired from elite sport." At the 2024 Australian Olympic Trials, Campbell placed 7th in the 50 free and 9th in the 100 free. In addition to her Olympic accolades, she was also a four-time LC world champion, nine-time Pan Pacific Championship gold medalist, and a six-time Commonwealth champion. She remains the world record holder in the women's 100 free in short course meters. “One of the biggest myths is that swimming is an individual sport," she said. "While it was only me under the bright lights behind the starting blocks, there was a small army of people who got me to that place. "So, I would like to thank my extended team over the years. My family, my friends, my partner, my competitors, my Australian Dolphins teammates, my management team, my physios, my coaches, Swimming Australia, the Queensland Academy of Sport, the Australian Olympic Committee, the New South Wales Institute of Sport, my sponsors, the swimming officials and referees, the basket kids, the events teams and every single swimming fan who has supported me over the years. “It’s been a long and wild ride and I wouldn’t change it for the world." Read more here. QUICK HITS * The University of Notre Dame has hired a law firm to conduct an external review of its men’s swimming & diving team after the school was informed of “potential issues with the culture” within the program. * New University of Arizona head coach Ben Loorz has a base contract of $845,000 over five years as he begins his tenure with the Wildcats in 2024-25. * French superstar Leon Marchand plans on racing the World Cup circuit in the fall after opting to turn pro and forgo his remaining college eligibility. * Bob Bowman has added former Louisville assistant Trevor Maida to his staff at the University of Texas, as Maida will serve as an assistant coach under Bowman and will lead the Texas men's sprint program. * SMU has announced Roric Fink as the new associate head coach of its men's swim & dive program, as he returns to the state of Texas after a two-year stint at Arizona. * British champion Archie Goodburn revealed he's been diagnosed with three inoperable brain tumors. The 23-year-old said he's been dealing with symptoms since December. * Andrew Shackell, the younger brother of Aaron and the twin brother of Alex, has flipped his collegiate commitment from Cal to Texas, following Aaron who announced his move to Austin (after swimming for Cal for part of last season) last month. * The Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) has released the operative award–a document that contains only the three-arbitrator panel’s ruling–officially handing Michael Brinegar the four-year suspension for blood doping that was first announced during the U.S. Olympic Trials. * The 2024 European Junior Championships kicked off on Tuesday—see what happened at Day 1 finals here. * The countdown to the Olympics is on. Follow along with our event previews for the Games here. SEINE RIVER FAILS ANOTHER WATER QUALITY TEST WITH JUST ONE MONTH UNTIL PARIS OLYMPICS By Riley Overend on SwimSwam E. coli levels were 10 times above acceptable limits on June 18 after another month of heavy rainfall sent untreated sewage into the Seine River. Read the full story on SwimSwam: Seine River Fails Another Water Quality Test With Just One Month Until Paris Olympics Read More → - US ADDS DAVID JOHNSTON TO 2024 OLYMPIC ROSTER IN OPEN WATER; GEMMELL TAKES LEDECKY’S SPOT By Braden Keith on SwimSwam Already qualified in the 1.5k in the pool, David Johnston will add the open water 10k race to his lineup for the Paris Olympics as well. Read the full story on SwimSwam: US Adds David Johnston to 2024 Olympic Roster in Open Water; Gemmell Takes Ledecky’s Spot Read More → - WADA PRESIDENT CALLS OUT USADA FOR HYPOCRISY, “PLAYING POLITICS” AFTER CONGRESSIONAL HEARING By James Sutherland on SwimSwam WADA President Witold Banka declined to attend the Congressional hearing in Washington on Tuesday, but didn't hold back in responding one day later. Read the full story on SwimSwam: WADA President Calls Out USADA For Hypocrisy, “Playing Politics” After Congressional Hearing Read More → - AUSTRALIAN OLYMPIC ICON CATE CAMPBELL RETIRES AFTER MISSING PARIS BID By Retta Race on SwimSwam 8-time Olympic medalist Cate Campbell of Australia has decided to hang up her goggles after having missed out on Paris 2024 qualification. Read the full story on SwimSwam: Australian Olympic Icon Cate Campbell Retires After Missing Paris Bid Read More → - BRITISH CHAMPION ARCHIE GOODBURN REVEALS INOPERABLE BRAIN TUMOR DIAGNOSIS By Retta Race on SwimSwam British breaststroking champion Archie Goodburn, just 23 years of age, revealed on social media his has three inoperable brain tumors. Read the full story on SwimSwam: British Champion Archie Goodburn Reveals Inoperable Brain Tumor Diagnosis Read More → - NOTRE DAME LAUNCHING EXTERNAL REVIEW OF “CULTURE” ISSUES IN MEN’S SWIM & DIVE PROGRAM By James Sutherland on SwimSwam ~ (2"-.\\ > ¥ \ .u“%\ Ny NIJTRF. TN —swwmms 8 DIVING— — T EE———— The law firm Ropes & Gray LLP will conduct the review, which is expected to be finished around the end of August. Read the full story on SwimSwam: Notre Dame Launching External Review of “Culture” Issues In Men’s Swim & Dive Program Read More → - Twitter Facebook Instagram Website