Unveiling the Aquatics Centre at the beginning of April, Emmanuel Macron, the president of France, heaped paeans upon the teams that had worked on the 170 million-euro building to ready it in time for the Olympics. Equally crucial, he insisted, the future. That Olympic legacy unfurls a swimming pool into a deprived region where surveys have shown that only around 40 percent of the under-11s know how to swim. National and international competitions will also be staged at the venue just a sleek footbridge away from the Stade de France.
Nearly four months on from the presidential effusions, one of the two pools, around which an environmentally friendly array of woods and photovoltaic panelling have been arranged, hosted the women’s synchronized 10-meter platform event.
The competition that began at 11am was soon a battle for the lesser precious metals as the Chinese teenage duo Yuxi Chen and Hongchan Quan eased into ascendancy.
Their first turn – a back dive – with 2.0 of difficulty brought 56.40 points.
The Canadian pair of Caeli McKay and Kate Miller were the nearest with 49.20 points.
Credit: rfi
