River Seine run highlights water challenges for Olympics

Water advocate Mina Guli has completed a run of 848km in 30 days along the length of the river Seine in France to highlight water issues ahead of the 2024 Olympics.

The run started on June 5th, World Environment Day, from the river's source in Source-Seine and finished on July 4th in Le Havre, where the river meets the Engish Channel sea.

Today, the River Seine is central to French life, culture, and identity. It connects France's largest international shipping port and flows through the capital city Paris, the most populated area in the country, and the location for this summer's Olympics.

The River Seine will play a prominent role in the Olympic and Paralympic Games with the opening ceremonies taking place on the river and both the marathon and triathlon swims scheduled to be held there.

This river was once considered Paris' dumping ground for domestic and industrial wastewater and was declared ecologically dead in the 1970s. Extensive clean-up efforts, including expanding and modernising wastewater treatment plants, have since restored river quality and made it swimmable again.

Guli said, “Immense efforts have restored the world’s most romantic river – and my run is to celebrate that the River Seine is a beacon of hope for degraded rivers worldwide and a striking testament to the power of perseverance and care. We can do hard things when we commit.”

  • Mina Guli finishing the 848km run at Le Havre, France
  • Mina Guli finishing the 848km run at Le Havre, France
  • Mina Guli finishing the 848km run at Le Havre, France

At various points of her run, Guli was joined by individuals and groups, including members of the UNESCO Jogging Club; Deputy Mayor of Roue, Sarah Vauzell; and Deputy Mayor of Paris in charge of Sport, Olympics and Paralympics, Pierre Rabadan.

This is certainly not Guli's first run to raise awareness of water issues. In the lead-up to the UN Water Conference in March 2023, Guli ran 200 marathons finishing at the UN Headquarters in New York, and at the Stockholm International Water Institute's World Water Week, Guli led a run with some of the world’s leading water professionals.

“It is a message of hope, resilience, and collective action that shows how even the most degraded waterways can be restored to their former glory. As the world gathers in Paris for the Olympic Games, the Seine’s transformation serves as a clarion call to other river cities worldwide. This is about more than just the Seine.

“It hasn’t been easy, and the job is far from done. We need to restore all our rivers, everywhere,” said Guli.

The Seine River Run was supported by the Grundfos Foundation and other partners, including WWF, Run Blue, Xylem, and Rotary International.

About the author
Seyifunmi Adebote is an environmental communicator based in Sweden, and presenter of the Climate Talk podcast.