Norway’s Henrik Christiansen had been hoping open water swimming would be able to be held in the River Seine. The iconic venue provides a scenic view of Paris with the Eiffel Tower in the back and the rest of the city in the foreground.

“It’s going to be exciting to see how the race plays out,” Christiansen said. “I think everyone has a bit of their own strategy but all of the strategies are a bit similar. I’ve done one World Cup - it was fun! It was a cool experience and valuable for this.”

For last year’s World champion Leonie Beck of Germany, the excitement of competing in her home continent is elevating her.

“Just being at the Olympic Games is always special, and now we have one in Europe as well,” Beck said.

“Swimming in the middle of the city, in the Seine, I think is going to be amazing, because you have the Eiffel Tower right there and also a lot of spectators.

“It’s a big marketing and adverting opportunity to put the focus on this amazing sport and help it grow, but also to remind people about the importance of taking care of nature, so they can swim in lakes, the sea or rivers themselves, too.

“I’m hoping for the best day of my life, because I will give everything in the race, like I do in training, and hope I’ll be happy with the result.”

Although France has a rich history in open water swimming, this week’s races will give the sport a chance to reach a global audience.

France’s Marc-Antoine Olivier, competing in his third Olympics, won silver in this event at the World Championships earlier this year in Doha. France will also be represented by Logan Fontaine, who won the 5k World title in February in Qatar.

“It’s very important because open water (swimming) is not very famous in my country,” Olivier said.

“The Seine is the best place in the world to swim, because it has so much history in my country and Paris. For me, it’s very important to swim in the Seine, it’s important to win a medal for my country, and I hope a lot of people see the race and realise how fun this sport can be.”

Thursday’s women’s 10k open water race will be just the fifth time the event had been contested at the Olympic Games with the event being introduced for men and women at the Beijing 2008 Games.

The last two champions will be in the field - 2016 gold medalist Sharon van Rouwendaal of the Netherlands, and 2020 champion Ana Marcela Cunha of Brazil. Van Rouwendaal, age 30, was the World champion earlier this year, and will expectedly be pushed by last year’s World champion Leonie Beck of Germany.

Katie Grimes of the United States won silver in the pool last week in the 400m IM and could factor into the medals as well after she beat Cunha and van Rouwendaal at last year’s World Championships. Spain’s Maria de Valdes and Portugal’s Angelica Andre, who were on the podium with Van Rouwendaal in February at the World Aquatics Championships, will also be favorites to win medals.

Germany’s Florian Wellbrock is the defending men’s champion from Tokyo 2020 as the entire podium from three years ago is back and stronger than ever. Hungary’s Kristof Rasovszky was the World champion earlier this year, and Italy’s Gregorio Paltrinieri won silver (1500m freestyle) and bronze (800m freestyle) in the pool last week.

France’s Olivier will also have the support of his home nation as he takes on the rest of the world, while Hungary’s David Betlehem, who was fourth in the 1500m last week, and Great Britain’s Hector Pardoe, who won bronze in Doha, will also factor into the race.

800m gold medalist from last week, Daniel Wiffen of Ireland, will also be racing his first ever open water race as he is on the start list as well. Turkey’s Kuzey Tuncelli, who was the first Turkish finalist at the Olympics in the 1500m last week, is also in his first open water race at age 16.

The fields will be much smaller than previous World Aquatics Championships, with 24 women and 31 men on the start list, compared to 71 women and 79 men on the start list for the Worlds in Doha earlier this year.

“It’s a very slim field. That makes it easier to break away or go on your own course, and that makes the tactics more exciting and also more valuable,” 2016 Olympic champion Ferry Weertman said. Weertman is now a member of the Technical Open Water Swimming Committee.

With the race being held in a river, the athletes will be met with a current going in one direction, providing a challenge for the athletes, but one they will be prepared for.

“I think for many athletes, it’s the first time with a current,” Florian Wellbrock said. “For the finish, you will need a little more power than usual. But everybody knows it so it is a part of the game. I think it is really important to make good and smart decisions during the race to be the best athlete.”

“This is very different from the 10k races we’ve seen in the last 10 years,” Open Water Swimming technical committee member Britta Kamrau said. “This is real open water swimming. It will definitely be to the advantage of the very-well experienced open water swimmers. If I was an athlete today, I would like these conditions.”

“The bottom line is it’s an even playing field,” National Performance Director for Swim Ireland Jon Rudd said. “Nobody is advantaged or disadvantaged. The water readings as of this morning are good. That makes for an interesting race. It’s going to be a huge challenge coming back towards the pontoon and highly strategic. It’s going to be really interesting and a good one for the spectators.”

The women’s race will dive in at 7:30 a.m. on Thursday from the River Seine with the men’s race following at the same time on Friday. In the event’s short history, no man or woman has won more than one Olympic gold medal in the event.

Parting Shot

Contributing: Gregory Eggert