Léon Marchand's exploits pool to be dismantled by October 15

The Paris Arena La Défense, the venue that hosted it in Nanterre, will resume its usual activities: rugby matches and concerts.

Installed in record time in June, after the Taylor Swift concerts, the two 50-metre pools (competition and training) were transported in separate parts by truck from Italy by their manufacturer Myrtha Pools.

"The most intense assembly of all the Olympic Games, 24 hours a day, 24 days a week," recalled Edouard Donnelly, executive director of the organizing committee, on Tuesday. "It's a bit 'sad' to see the hall like this," he added, in front of the competition pool emptied of its water, and the 7 tons of scaffolding being dismantled.

The water, which comes from the city network, has been filtered and must be reinjected.

In total, some 700.000 spectators attended the swimming, water polo and para-swimming competitions in the Paris Arena La Défense, which usually hosts Racing 92 matches. During the dismantling, Racing 92 is playing in Créteil.

Of the two 50-metre pools, one will be transferred to Sevran and half of the other (25 m) to Bagnolet. These two towns in Seine-Saint-Denis had responded to the call for projects from the organising committee ahead of the Olympic Games to receive a pool as a legacy. The remaining 25 metres were not purchased by the Cojo but were rented.

Former rugby player Denis Navizet, site manager for the Cojo, said on Wednesday that between the Olympic fortnight and the Paralympic Games, around a hundred children who were not going on holiday came to swim in this temporary pool.

Before installing these two pools, it was necessary to carry out studies on the bearing capacity of the ground, the air temperature, etc. Three weeks of work took place in the summer of 2023, particularly on electricity in this hall which can hold up to 45.000 people and whose capacity was 15.000 for the Games.

The Olympic rings installed on the pediment of this room have been removed.

The decision to organize the swimming events in Nanterre was taken in the fall of 2020.

Between budget overruns for the Olympic Aquatic Centre (CAO) in Saint-Denis, questions of transport access, and searches for savings, the Cojo had finally abandoned the CAO and a possible outdoor pool, for this mega hall located in Nanterre which was initially to host gymnastics.