Ongoing pollution concerns resurface, alongside pool doubts

The opening day of competition for Barbados at Paris 2024 had more than its fair share of twists and turns, despite the fact that just two athletes were down to compete. One of the two had his Olympic debut postponed by a full day. The other was unable to improve on his previous best time in difficult conditions.

Jack Kirby dove into the pool at the La Defense Arena for Heat 5 in the men’s 100m freestyle swimming event. Swimming in lane 6, he made the turn in 24.08 seconds, sixth at that point, but battled back to a time of 50.42, placing third. 

Overall, Kirby placed 46th. Only the athletes with the 16 fastest times advanced to the semifinals. Kirby, who turned 24 last week, has a personal-best mark of 49.31 seconds, the fastest ever by a Bajan swimmer. The pool in Paris, however, has come under fire for being too shallow, leading to lacklustre times.

Notwithstanding, Kirby took it all in stride. Speaking poolside, he told reporters that he wasn’t necessarily able to execute as he normally would, but overall he was pleased.

“Time was within the realm of what I’ve been doing this year. Not my fastest, but I’ll take it,” he conceded. “I mean, I’m at the Olympics, and there’s a lot more going on in my head. Normally, my tactic is to be really relaxed, clear-minded, and it’s kind of impossible right now, because this isn’t any other race, this is the Olympics. So I’ve got to be real. So I’m just happy, I’m happy to be an Olympian.”

Going into the race, Kirby said he had been a bundle of nerves. “I am excited,” he explained. “Very emotional, a lot on the mind; I mean, pretty nervous this morning, but it’s been a lot of fun so far.

“We have a sports psychologist on the team. She helped me put it in some good perspective, I mean, really, look at enjoying it. It’s a gift of all the hard work I’ve put on throughout the years, so I just enjoy it.”

Kirby, the flagbearer to Team Barbados at last week’s Opening Ceremony on the River Seine, described his Olympic experience as “an honour.” 

Speaking of the Seine, that body of water has been the subject of a great deal of discussion globally in the past few months. The French government spent more than 1 billion euros trying to clean the river sufficiently to allow for competition in the triathlon.

The men’s event was meant to get underway at 2:00 am Tuesday, Barbados time. Instead, competitors – including Barbados’ Matthew Wright – were told that the event would be put off by a full day, hopeful that the water quality would improve overnight.

That may not be the case. Apparently, rain causes the levels of E. coli and other bacteria to rise on the famed river. It rained on Friday during the Opening Ceremony, and at press time, it was again raining intermittently in Paris. 

Aurélie Merle, the Paris 2024 director of sports, told reporters Tuesday that water samples are taken 21 and a half hours before decisions are made about the swim, leaving uncertainty about its accuracy the day of the race.

Friday is also planned as a backup date, but Wright’s Olympic dream may be in further jeopardy if the forecast holds. It is expected to rain on and off through Thursday in the French capital. (TF)