Marathon swim duo hope UK follows France's lead after "amazing" Olympic race
They rose before dawn and went into the water while much of Paris was still waking up.
A couple of hours later, Hector Pardoe and Toby Robinson stood on the end of the Pont Alexandre III, right in the heart of the city, having gained both sporting regrets and memories to last a lifetime.
Neither man was particularly satisfied with their result in the marathon swim, Shropshire’s Pardoe finishing sixth having spent all but the final stretch of Friday's 10km race in touch with the leaders. Wolverhampton’s Robinson, on Olympic debut, was down in 14th nearly six minutes behind gold medallist Kristof Rasovszky of Hungary.
Both agreed they had been involved in something special.
Staging sporting events in the River Seine has been one of the big talking points of these Games, drawing criticism, praise and occasional ridicule.
Ultimately, Paris has pulled it off. Despite a few hiccups, the triathlon and open water swimming events have been completed as planned.
Most importantly, moving forward, the city now has a much cleaner river.
“I think this is going to be Paris 2024’s legacy,” said Pardoe. “It is amazing they have been able to clean it up and all the races have gone ahead.
“It sets a really good precedent. Hopefully we can follow it in the UK because we have got a massive way to go to even get close to what France has done here.”
