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00:00 At the foot of Paris' historic Alexander III Bridge,
00:03 the moment of truth for the world's top female triathletes
00:07 as they dove into the Seine River for a trial event
00:10 ahead of next year's Olympic Games.
00:12 The contest, though, nearly eclipsed by concerns
00:15 over the water quality in the Seine itself.
00:18 Trial runs for free swimming events two weeks ago
00:21 were cancelled due to high pollution levels
00:23 following days of heavy rain.
00:25 Paris' Olympic Organizing Committee boss
00:27 declared himself satisfied Thursday,
00:30 as did the event's hometown hero.
00:32 It's maybe our greatest race so far.
00:35 We have swum in much worse waters.
00:39 A success for the French capital,
00:41 even if opinion among Parisian spectators remains divided.
00:46 I think it's great.
00:47 If we can eventually swim there too,
00:49 it'll be life-changing for Parisians.
00:53 I think it's crazy.
00:55 The Seine is still polluted and I'll be surprised
00:58 if these swimmers stay healthy after this race.
01:04 Even in the midst of a 1.4 billion euro clean-up project,
01:07 bacteria levels in the river are still too high
01:10 for the water quality to be considered
01:12 at the "very good" level.
01:14 Organizers, though, insist that more improvements
01:16 are yet to come between now
01:18 and the opening of next year's summer games.
01:21 [BLANK_AUDIO]