Marathon swimming event takes place in Paris’ Seine River [Video]

The women’s marathon swimming event in Paris kicked off as planned this morning, despite initial concerns about the cleanliness of the Seine River.The crowds began to gather shortly after sunrise. The female marathon swimmers dove into the Seine at precisely 7:30, following a test that certified the river clean enough for competition.”I’m an open water swimmer over the summer,” said California spectator Paul Kalas. He had a front-row seat at the event.No one debated the toughness of the course. “You have to have a strategy on how to swim this particular race,” Kalas added. The athletes had to complete a one-mile loop six times, with the current running at 2-3 mph.”This can be really exciting when you’re going downstream because you’re speeding as if you’ve got like your turbocharged swimmer, and then all of a sudden you have to go upstream, and then it becomes really challenging to go upstream,” …