The Fourth of July spirit is all about bravery and celebration, and one 75-year-old American swimmer decided to take it to a whole new level. It’s no secret that the Seine River, though picturesque and set to be an important Olympic venue, has had its issues with unsafe levels of E. coli. Yet, bravely taking the risk, Joel Stratte McClure dove into the murky waters of Paris.

His goal? To celebrate Independence Day and highlight the French government’s efforts to clean up the river before the upcoming Paris Olympics. But here’s the twist: this is not the first time Joel has swam in the Seine.

Back in 1976, he took a dip for a magazine cover shoot. According to AP, now that he’s about to turn 76 this month, Joel decided to take a daring plunge once again. Before jumping in, the 75-year-old Joel Stratte McClure joked, “I may regret having swum. But if I come back alive, it will prove that the French have done a good job cleaning up the river.” Who is the man behind this brave move?

Joel Stratte-McClure is an inquisitive American journalist and over 30-year expatriate in France known as “the_idiot_and_the_odyssey” on Instagram. He even has a website called “Follow the Idiot,” where he documents his journey and highlights.

Joel has also written a book called “The Idiot and the Odyssey: Walking the Mediterranean,” published in 2008, that chronicles his journey walking around the Mediterranean Sea. He shared in one update, “The Idiot first got to the bottom of the dirty Seine River and came back alive in 1976. He plans to repeat his swim in the Seine just before the upcoming Paris Olympics.”

Did you know, back in the day, he also came up with a boot when he dived in the Seine off Ile Saint-Louis behind the Notre-Dame Cathedral in 1976? Joel had studied the river and his swimming route when he arrived in Paris on July 2. And when he took the plunge, he did not just dive in but swam past the Notre Dame Cathedral.

In earlier posts, he hoped French President Emmanuel Macron would join him for a dip just before the Summer Olympics open in Paris on July 26. So why did Joel finally make the decision on July 4th?

Why did Joel Stratte-McClure challenge Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo on her promise?

French President Emmanuel Macron and Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo were set to dive into the Seine, stirring up attention. Hidalgo had planned to swim in the river last month to show it was clean. However, her plan sparked criticism online, with some threatening to protest by polluting the river on the day of her swim. She put it off due to the snap elections announced by Macron, which caused political tensions and shifted focus away from the upcoming Olympics. Now, she’s aiming to swim in mid-July, despite faster currents due to recent heavy rainfall.

Joel Stratte-McClure shared in his blog, “Because French President Emmanuel Macron and Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo have so far failed to deliver on their promise to take the plunge and guarantee that a much-touted river clean-up has made the Seine safe for swimmers.” The marathon swimming and triathlon events are set to happen near the Alexandre III bridge during the Paris Olympics, which kick off on July 26 at the Seine.

Just a few days ago, on June 28, AP reported unsafe levels of E. coli in the Seine River for the third week in a row. Monitoring by Eau de Paris showed contamination levels consistently above the safe limit of 900 colony-forming units per 100 milliliters set by the World Triathlon Federation.

Hours after Joel’s swim, though, regional authorities released data showing improved water quality over the past week. This raised hopes that the river might still host Olympic swimming events. As we think about these updates and the controversy surrounding the iconic River Seine, what do you make of Joel Stratte-McClure’s daring dive? Do you think Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo will eventually take the plunge too? Share your thoughts in the comments below!