Photo of the Week – December 7, 2012

This photo, originally published in 1918, captures the start of la Coupe de Noël, a swimming competition in the Seine at le pont Alexandre III. We see the swimmers lined up along the quai, making their first splash into the river. In 1934, another annual swimming competition of the same name was started in Geneva’s Lake Léman. The race takes place each year on the last Sunday of December before Christmas. In groups of 20, participants race to cover 125 meters. In 1934, nine swimmers participated, and in 2011 there were 1,000.

This work (coupe de Noël, le départ), via Gallica.bnf.fr) is free of known copyright restrictions.